


And We Shall Build A Home

by TheOneWhoStayed



Series: Open Your Heart [1]
Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And it's from the other Cullens POV as they are brought into the family, Beau Swan is in this as a completely different character, But still Charlie's kid, Dhampir, F/M, Gen, Half-Vampires, I play so fast and loose with canon, It's more of an accessory to a series that doesn't exist yet, Like not good either but you'll see, Non Evil Volturi, Open ended, Original Male Character - Freeform, Other, POV Outsider, POV Outsider on Carlisle/Bella, Soul Bond, This is an AU where Bella and Carlisle got married in Regency England, Vampire Turning, idk - Freeform, it's laughable, no beta we die like men, this is for me but you can read it if you want
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:29:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24890848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheOneWhoStayed/pseuds/TheOneWhoStayed
Summary: At the age of 17, Isabella Swan married a man that was not a man and eased his loneliness as she joined him in eternal life.But this isn't that story. This is about the family they made after it.[A series of 1 shots about the Cullen Family in a  Universe where Bella and Carlisle got Married in 1813]
Relationships: Carlisle Cullen/Bella Swan
Series: Open Your Heart [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1801096
Comments: 17
Kudos: 168





	1. Edward Masen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a whole regency Romance in my head but it's more interesting from how other see them I think. There's a bit of character study in here too....
> 
> IDK this is really rough and it's mostly for me. 
> 
> They say write what you want after all!

He had always been quiet and studious. Where other young men ran amok like hooligans, Edward Masen had a mother to care for. She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever known as she showed him how he could be a man and still be sensitive to other people's feelings as he always was.

From birth Edward had been stellar at reading people's moods or even their intentions. Their feelings were practically an opened book, but sometimes it got him into trouble. Young men did not like to admit that they weren't so brave or strong as they acted, but Edward always saw through their facades.

It earned him few friends, but that did not matter, as he preferred solitude. Playing the piano at ever opportunity was his way of interacting with the world.

As the war had taken much of their luxuries, Edward could no longer play as often as he liked for his mother. Still though, there was a lounge which allowed him to play as often as he like and even allowed the customers to tip him should they choose.

There was little money in it, but such performances was what he could do until he became of age and was sent away to war just as his father had been. His mother volunteered as a local nurse and made food for the soup kitchens.

Such was their simple life.

It was during one such evenings that he made plans to play for the upper echelons of their society, when he first saw her.

Miss Isabella Cullen was beautiful and claimed but 16 years. Edward was struck by her as he found her sitting on his usual bench. Her fingering was phenomenal as Claire De Lune poured from the ivories like a crystal clear river.

She was but a conduit for the music in a way he had always hoped to be.

"That's Dr. Cullen's niece," The manager of the lounge informed him. Edward had taken a seat ensconced in the corner by the bar hoping to perhaps speak to her before she departed and allowed him to make his own performance.

"She's 16 and a master, ask her to play anything and she will. The girl's been there since noon and when I asked if she was going to leave all she'd say was that her volunteer slip at the local hospice hadn't' been approved," The man laughed heartily then at the innocence the girl seemed to ooze.

Edward found her enchanting.

Not in the way a man found a wife, but like a soul found a kindred sibling. It was strange to be so swept up in another's performance as most he had experienced lacked character or passion. There were many who provided too much of their own flourish or were exceedingly skilled in only fudging the difficult passages.

But as he watched Isabella Cullen that night he could not help but think that she was like an angel of music which had graced them with her skill.

She departed from her perch behind the piano after finishing a particularly difficult piece of Chopin's making. There was a small bowl of tips which had ostensibly filled slowly through the day on the edge of the stage, which the girl swept up after a small bow.

Edward moved to make an introduction to her but it seemed such a hope was only vanity as Miss Cullen disappeared out of the lounge and into the streets with little notice of him.

He was only just 16 that day, and he thought on her occasionally when he played. How skilled she was! What master could she have learned under to be so proficient in her playing. Thoughts of her plagued him and he realized much later it was from the fact that while he had always been good at simply knowing the intention and moods of people, he had not been able to decipher at all.

Then, he thought on her no more as the Spanish flu struck with such an iron hand that he could think of nothing but his mother and providing safety for her.

The name Dr. Cullen sprang up frequently as he and many other doctors worked tirelessly, thanklessly, as angels of mercy to heal whom God would allow. So many suffered and fear struck Edwards heart when their neighbors began falling to the rampant disease.

Still, he did what he could.

Much later when Edward himself lay suffering from the Spanish flu, he thought on her again. How wonderful it would be to hear her play once more before he tossed off the mortal coils which kept him away from his parents.

For his mother had suffered and perished into the night just a day before.

Edward knew he was not long for the world as a haze had overtaken him to the point that all he knew was heat and sweat. His body was rebelling and losing the war it waged with the disease so many before him had fallen to.

In the dark of night though, Dr. Cullen came and whispered into his ear that he would save him. That Edward Masen would survive this.

And then Edward knew that the flu which had racked his body and made it feeble was only a small inconvenience. Because the fire which over took him then was so much worse.

Hell, that is what he believed had happened, he had not kept himself holy. Somehow he had failed his father and let his mother die and now fire and brimstone was all he would know for an eternity.

Edward felt it for so long that he truly believed it as he screamed for mercy, but none came. He screamed for what seemed like years, and yet there was not help for him until his very heart which had been beating like a war drum became silent.

It was not hell he had suffered, but Edward soon wished it had been.

Everything was too bright, too clear and too much. The sounds coming from outside were causing his skin to crawl and vibrate. Bugs skittering, birds flapping their wings, and leaves falling all crowded his mind.

That was not even speaking of the smells, earth, wood, cotton, and sweat were pungent through the air. If he were to guess he had been sequestered into a forest lodge while the flu had run it's course.

Light spilled into the room through a high window but did not hit him or any other corner. Simply a small 4 pained square was illuminated on the wooden flooring.

But then Isabella Cullen was standing before him just beyond the light beam. How had he not seen her before? So overtaken he was by the cacophony his senses were being bombarded with! Edward had not noticed her, nor had he noticed Dr. Cullen himself dressed down in a way no man should be before a lady regardless of their blood connection.

With no coat or tie, simply a pair of slacks and suspenders which lay uselessly at his hips. The man's button up was untucked and unbuttoned halfway with no shirt underneath.

Even more scandalous was the fact that he was holding his niece tenderly at the hips. Her own clothes loose an lacking in modesty! Men's pants folded up to her knees and a blouse which seemed to have been constructed from a man's shirt, likely Dr. Cullen's.

"Mr. Masen, how are you feeling?" Dr. Cullen spoke and his voice was kind, somehow it did not match the strange scene that he was partaking in. Even as the man's hands slowly wrapped more fully around his ward until both broad palms were spread across her belly.

The display was confusing, sickening at the thought of their relation, Isabella did not seem to care either! Edward wondered if he'd taught her such things were normal.

A burn began in his throat then as if triggered by another's voice and Edward could no longer remain silent as his nerves began to fray and a mania overtook him,

"What is happening?! Where have you taken me and why do you hold her so indecently?! I feel so thirsty!

"I need water!"

"Water will not soothe the burn," Isabella informed him gently, with kind eyes. She placed her hands on Dr. Cullens and pulled them off slowly before approaching with care,

"You have been altered completely and we hope to guide you into this new life."

As she stepped closer, into the light her skin sparkled like catching fire and he began to understand. His knowledge was sealed as Dr. Cullen said,

"We are vampires and in order to save you I made you one of us. I was all I could do with your mother's dying request that I help in the only way I could."

Horror coursed through him and would for a very long time as he adjusted to the life he'd been baptized into through hellfire.

The cabin he had woken inside of was located in the woods somewhere in the forests of Wisconsin. A safe house miles upon miles from civilization so that Edward could learn to control his new Vampiric instincts he struggled with so much.

As he gained control of himself through the days and the Cullens taught him to hunt, not human blood, but forest creatures, Edward began to learn more about their lives beyond the veneer they put up in the human world.

"Isabella is my wife and has been since 1813," Dr. Cullen informed him one day as their trio sat in the cabin.

Bella was curled up with him on a beautifully crafted sofa and she was reading Oliver Twist at a leisurely pace, but still fast if one were human.

"How did you die?" Edward asked gently as he had been dying when Dr. Cullen had performed the necessary act. He had come to find the man a gentle sort and could not see him biting a girl so young for selfish reason.

But then both Cullens grew silent and Edward grew as close to sick as he could in his new body.

For he had not been able to read them so easily as he had read others before his transformation, but their silence and shared look was telling.

"You must understand that I was human when we met and I had made my choice," Bella spoke slowly but Edward was already feeling his rage building up at the man who took the life of a young girl for his own fleshly gian.

An off rumble which was sounding in his chest and Isabella took a stand in an instant, situating herself as a wall between Edward and the Doctor.

As he lost control of himself, Dr. Cullen seemed to barely care as Edward lunged forwards.

Shock coursed through him as he acted but found himself colliding with a mighty cracking roar like stone being struck by a sledge hammer. A shimmering orb had formed around the Cullens, like a soap bubble floating in a bucket.

"What is that?!" Edward found his senses returning to him as the rage was replace by pain. Giving himself a once over, he could see that his very flesh had begun to crack from ramming so viciously into the bubble.

"It's my gift," Isabella replied steadily, "Some who enter a life of immortality are reborn with powers beyond normal.

"My gift began as a simple mental shield which protected me and my choice of subjects from mental gifts.

"With great practice it grew to shield even physical blows should I wish it."

"Why do you protect him?" Edward hisses has his crystalline flesh began to knit itself back together.

"Carlisle is my Mate. Perhaps you will one day understand this, but know that if he had been able to, Carlisle would have waited until I was older to change me."

Edward did not understand in that moment, but one day he would begin to. It was strange when he looked back on the time in the cabin they spent forming their small family, when he recalled that he had been so distressed by Bella and Carlisle's love. As he had long begun to think on them as the epitome of happiness, to yearn for a companion and think of their paring as his ideal.

He destroyed many things in those early days. The bed Edward had awoken upon had been completely smashed, a fate which had been met by most of his clothes while he was on hunts or simply attempting to exist in a normal manner.

There were times when he felt almost blind in a conversation as Carlisle was a person with open expressions, but Edward felt that he could not tell what the man was thinking beyond what he displayed.

As if all his humanity and fellow feeling had faded when he became this creature.

During the day, after their small group had hunted together, for Bella and Carlisle had not yet left him to hunt alone at any point. Edward watched as Bella stood in the boughs of a mighty tree, while Carlisle held her tightly.

And they danced moving from branch to branch in waltz to a song only they could hear.

Edward bore witness to this and was hit with the strange feeling that he was the first to have ever seen them engaging in such a display. As if it was a privilege bestowed upon him to hear Bella laugh, her voice ringing out like a bell while her Mate kissed her neck playfully.

Sitting upon a boulder within a small clearing Edwards watched the couple as their dance became an excited game of chase until Bella was running away in a fit of laughter, only to be caught by Carlisle in the meadow below.

They tumbled and there was such joy in them that Edward wondered how they could have possibly found such contentment when he felt so angry, frenzied, and beyond thirsty all the time.

Carlisle had gently informed him that his first 6 months would be the worst but it would depend on him when he calmed completely, as everyone was different.

Edward had been with them in their cabin for 4 months and did not feel any closer to feeling alright. The longer he spent accustomed to his new form and senses, the surer he was that they were closer to demons than human.

That their existence was indeed a precursor to eternal damnation. For what God could suffer a beast which craved blood of his more innocent creations.

"Why are your eyes gold?" Edward asked one bright night under the full moon. He and the two Cullens were hunting but Bella had veered slightly off form their course. She was still nearby but Edward still felt strange addressing her from so far away.

Fortunately it was Carlisle who answered from his place soaring through the tree by Edward's side,

"You may have noticed your strength, speed, and overall senses are greater than Bella's and mine."

Edward had indeed seen signs of this as he was always the first to reach their prey and seemed more prone to break bones in them. He had simply thought it was a lack of control as every part of him seemed to need pummeling in order to do the simplest tasks.

"I had simply thought you both had more control over your abilities than I," Edward replied honestly as he truly looked through his memories of their few weeks together.

"That is true," Carlisle gave him a grin, the man's eyes sparkled like gemstones as if he was sharing a secret,

"But you are, what our kind refers to as, a Newborn. The blood of your human life still rushes through your veins and it makes you stronger than you will ever be.

"In time your speed and strength will calm to our level but you will have no doubt mastered them when it happens."

Edward was about to protest that his question had not been answered but Carlisle continued, "Your red eyes are a sign of your human blood still flowing through your veins.

"For those Vampires which have chosen to drink from humans, the color never fades. But like your strength, in time, your eyes will being to fill with gold as the blood of the animals we drink fills you."

"Have you ever drank from a human?" Edward could not help but ask, though it seemed like an invasion of privacy.

The response Carlisle gave was a toothy smile, like pride, "I nor Bella have ever dined on a human."

* * *

  
When he was still learning his way, Carlisle received a mysterious letter and left for the nearest town on foot.

"I must gather supplies, we are to have a guest," the man seemed enthusiastic at the prospect but Edward could not see why. From what he had gleaned, they seemed to be the only 3 Vampires in existence who drank from animals.

So if they were to have a visitor they would be dealing with a cold blooded killer. A person who put no value on the life of humans.

Which was why he stopped cold in his tracks as he heard someone who wasn't Carlisle approaching the cabin. He had been reading, attempting to read actually, at a human pace while Bella fluttered about cleaning while singing a song only she seemed to know.

After his senses detected the approach it seemed Bella's were close behind as she stopped her chores before spinning in order to face the front of the home. Her countenance was glowing with exuberance as a the cabin's great oak door swung opened to reveal a man.

"Mama!" the man cheered in greeting as he opened his arms only, to Edward's surprise, for Bella to leap towards him into an embrace. The stranger spun her around as if she belonged in his arms and Edward felt irritation, then anger at the idea of this strange man touching Bella in such a familiar way.

He was young, perhaps in his mid to late twenties, his hair was almost a blond as Dr. Cullen's, but there was natural brown which toned down the color. It was the stranger's eyes which caught him though as the were a lively chocolate brown color.

But there was something else that did not add up.

"He's human!" Edward found his panic rising like high tide about to wash him away a the sound of the heart beating within this newcomer's chest. Holding his breath he hoped not to get any bit of this stranger's scent on his tongue.

This man with his harms around Bella was amused and had the audacity to say _'Human!'_ and chuckle as if his life was not in danger.

"Breathe, Edward," Bella encouraged him lightly with a smile, "It will be fine."

 _'C'mon kid you can do it,_ ' the man joined Bella in an encouraging expression causing Edward to snarl,

"Don't call me kid!"

"I didn't say anything," He responded with his expression dropping to one of confusion his tone was less amused, _' Is he alright? What is he hearing? Could this be a gift or something dangerous.'_ Distinctly he was motivated to protect Bella, and Carlisle with a deep impression of family and growth.

For Edward it was being blind but awakening to Vampiric sight all over, only in his the ability to understand and read a person.

"This is Elisha," Bella spoke slowly, and Edward knew it was because he himself was still skittish as panic welled up inside of him along side the anger at her proximity to the strange man.

"Trust me Edward, he doesn't smell how Carlisle and I told you humans would.Please breathe."

 _'He's so skittish, are all newborns like this? Papa said he'd calmed a lot in his letter!'_ Elisha, the now named man seemed intent on rambling on and Edward was beginning to feel himself growing tired of it,

"Can you stop the running commentary?!"

Elisha and Bella both blinked slowly as if he were going mad. Elisha replied and it sounded different from before somehow, " I've barely spoken Mr. Masen."

There was clear disbelief and worry rolling of the other man as Elisha's other voice started up again but this time Edward realized he wasn't moving his lips, _'Is he actually reading my mind?'_

Louder then but still without actually speaking, _'Edward Masen are you reading my mind? Say yes if you are.'_

"Yes?" Edward frowned in realization of what was happening, his response caused Elisha to grin wildly like a child on his birthday.

Releasing Bella, Elisha rushed him with impossible speed for a human and Edward realized that they hadn't been lying as strong arms wrapped around him and the other man whooped,

"My new brother can read minds!"

As Elisha's arms encircled him, Edward's senses were filled with the other man. A rapid heartbeat that sounded like the beat of a humming bird's wings, with flesh that was hard, but much softer than his own. Blood pumping through his veins yet it's aroma barely registered as anything to Edward's Vampiric sense.

Elisha's scent fill his nose and mouth but it was nothing like sweetness or a fruit bouquet that had been described to him. No, this was like freshly cut grass with a hint of lemons and mint. He smelled nice in the way an after shave or potpourri enhanced a room, but did not invoke a hunger.

"What are you?" Edward could not help it as he found Elisha's conflicting attributes troubling, "You're neither human or Vampire! Are there other crea-"

Suddenly Edward could see in Elisha's mind the truth.

Memories of his birth as Carlisle, full of blood, bundled Elisha up and set him into a bassinet before turning to Bella, who lay pale and weak. She reached out to touch her Mate and Carlisle whispered something too distant to comprehend before biting her.

Screaming.

Bella was screaming in the memory and Carlisle was grabbing Elisha and fleeing the room whispering apologies to the babe who could barely understand what had just occurred.

Edward could see Elisha's recall of his Mother holding him for the first time her eyes as red as rubies, then later as he grew into a child and learned to hunt rabbits and other small game in the forests.

A great trip to the continent when he could not speak, but was capable of walking.

Faster now the images flooded him as if Elisha was happy to share it all. A rapid childhood where Elisha was presented to what looked like 3 Kings on Ancient throne who debated if this child should live.

Carlisle and Bella on their knee begging and it's those pleas which save young Elisha for Dr. Cullen was a favorite of the King who stood in the center of the dais.

Years of that middle King studying Elisha as he grew into a young man in the halls of a palace, while his mother was trained by knights in black robes with red hoods. Only to leave when the three Kings asked for Bella stay and protect their Queens.

A life together with his parents. Born half Vampire and Half Human with a beating heart and inhuman senses. Able to walk in the day without standing out, but not quite as powerful as his parents.

"Bella was still human? And yet Carlisle was not," Edward could barely comprehend was he was learning in such a flood until it all coalesced into a single bright memory of Elisha's. The Half Human boy stood before his father, he was eating a bowl of strawberries and Carlisle was smiling like it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever witnessed.

Quiet were the words Dr. Cullen spoke and Edward felt like an intruder.

"I have always viewed your Mother as a gift from God for striving all my existence towards holiness," Carlisle touched his son's hair with such tender love as he spoke,

"And now he has blessed me with you as a divine sign declaring that we indeed have souls and still have judgment to face.

"Elisha, you never have to drink the blood of an animal again if you wish, you know your mother would love to cook for you. I'm sure she misses it."

In one fell swoop Edwards world was fundamentally altered once more as he realized that Carlisle was correct. Elisha's very existence was a sign that God had not abandoned them.

Eventually Elisha calmed and released Edward from his much weaker grasp. Edward had grown afraid of harming the man who was more fragile than the Full Vampire's he'd been living with.

Bella introduced them properly and Edward found the other man interesting. According to them, Elisha was around 105 years old and showed no signs of beginning to age further. Edward was fascinated by every bit of knowledge which they offered

While Elisha explained that he had been away looking for other's like him that had not been sanctioned by the Volturi, Bella skillfully related the ruling on the birth of Half Vampire Children.

"Carlisle brought Elisha to Volturi when he was a boy fearing that an onlooker might see Elisha and think him an immortal child," She sighed as if remembering before smiling brightly,

"They agreed to let Elisha live, should he prove to grow and learn, this was ostensibly a reward for Carlisle's loyalty to their rule in not hiding Elisha away.

"Eventually Aro, who is one of the leaders of their coven, determined that Half Born children could only be created after entreating the Volturi. "

"Thus, I search out children like myself that were born before the mandate and bring them to Volterra in order to plead their cases," Elisha seemed quite proud of himself,

"My gift is that I can see the history of an object, person, or Vampire. Aro is able to see the full memories of any person by a simple touch.

"So through me those Half Born are able to prove they were not created in resistance to the Volturi and are given clemency."

"Why call it history?" Edward frowned in confusion at the term, "Would not 'memories' be a more apt term?"

"But my gift is not memories," Elisha explained easily with the surety of a man who knew the width and breadth of his skills,

"For you see, many Vampires do not recall their Human lives, but I am yet able to reveal them. I can share their history with them. Though I am limited in that I cannot share their history with someone else."

"That's incredible," Edward found himself saying breathlessly at the idea that this man could reveal what was hidden even from oneself.

It was then that he heard the familiar sound of an approach to the cabin and Bella stood from her place on the sofa next to Elisha, "You're father is near. He'll have brought food to stock the cupboards with now that you've joined us here."

And when Carlisle arrived he was indeed laden with human foods.

Later when they had their first family meeting with Edward, the discussed his new found gift.

Edward did not feel so gifted though as he could only read Elisha's mind. But the Half Born had very teasingly informed him that not much could get past his mother and she was always shielding her Mate from pure instinct.

He was fortunate he supposed, that he only need draw near Bella when he needed quiet from Elisha's mind and the haven proved even more valuable as he grew mature in his new life and they all moved to Ashland.

Slowly, following Elisha's lead, Edward began to see Carlisle like a father to him while Bella too became like a mother. As she cared for and sheltered all of them within her shield when needed.

In Ashland he first used the name Edward Cullen and he did not mind it.

There would be mistakes.

He was not like Bella or Carlisle. Edward was sometimes weak and fed on humans, but his self control grew slowly with the years they all spent together. Never did he lose sight of the promise of the reward should he walk the path or righteousness. Sometimes he feared he had shed too much blood and the guilt all but crushed him.

But there were many good times too.

Their family grew and their roles changed but Bella was always their mother when no humans were looking and Carlisle was their fatherly strength.

And Edward found, one day as he played a duet with the greatest love of his existence that, despite the stumbles and falls in his life, he was happy.


	2. Esme Platt

Esme Platt was 16 and had a crush.

She knew it was silly as Dr. Cullen was almost twice her age but he had been so kind as he reset her broken leg.

Esme was the kind of girl who loved to run and explore every nook an crevice of her home town of Columbus Ohio, and since she grew up outside the greater populated areas she had fallen, leaped, and even been tackled from several high places in her life.

So when she broke her leg and found herself under the tender care of the most handsome Doctor she'd ever met, it had felt like love at first sight to her girlish heart.

Dr. Cullen was part of a rather interesting family as he lived and took care of his two younger siblings Elisha and Isabella.

Bella was slightly older than Esme's own age and she had seen the other girl in town doing the shopping. Esme herself frequently went with her mother but Bella had been alone. Caring for a house as the only woman seemed a daunting task to Esme.

There was always a casual elegance about the other girl, a quiet maturity she displayed that Emse wondered about frequently as many of the girls her age were already getting married. She did not think herself quite up to the task and when she tried to envision a girl around her age who was, Isabella always came to mind.

No she herself though she would marry when she was older. There were dreams to fulfill.

Being a school teacher was what she wished for an even began preparing for the necessary courses.

Sometimes she wondered about the handsome Dr. Cullen who had treated her and vanished from town with his family only months later. He was not even the Doctor who had removed Esme's cast!

She thought of him when she sought a husband at the age of 22 when her parents would not give her peace if she did not settle. They worried, Esme knew, that she would end up old and alone with no one to keep her safe and no children to support her in age.

So she settled.

The life she lived as Mrs. Evenson was one she did not enjoy dwelling on.

He was a cruel man and Esme did not know how she could have ever thought him kind or sweet as he hurt her in his rage. Her family would not support a divorce though, and to be a woman with no friend or relative on your side was a death sentence she could not weather.

Esme almost felt sick with relief when the war began and Charles Evenson was drafted.

The time she spent in those days dwelling on what if's was peaceful if lonely. As she wondered what would have happened is she was been born just a few years earlier and had been woman enough to catch the eye of Dr. Cullen.

Esme had a secret fantasy of marrying him and being Isabella's best friend whom the responsible quiet girl could unload her sorrows and weights upon.

If she had been older she could have been a mother figure to the girl, and perhaps even Elisha whom she'd never even met.

She wondered if they all could have been happy.

But when the war ended and Charles returned, Esme was reminded why she needed to escape from her life in such dreams.

He was worse somehow. Perhaps it was the pain of all he'd seen and done that cause his much greater fits of violence, but Esme could hardly call Charles a man in those final days she lived as his wife.

When she fell pregnant, she realized that this was it.

While she could not suffer herself alone without the support of her family, Esme could not even conceive of having a child in such a house of pain and sorrow. It was for that reason that she ran.

For her precious child's future she ran and ran until Charles found her and she ran again.

Becoming a mother was difficult on her own, but those few nights she spent caring for her newborn were so full and perfect that Esme could not explain how worth the struggle her plight had been.

It was the deepest of hell when her precious child succumbed to an ailment of the lungs.

And Esme could no longer see herself living.

For what good was her life if she could not have her little angel which she'd sacrificed everything for?

When she jumped from those jagged rocks, Esme thought it would be quick.

Perhaps she had underestimated the height in her blind grief, but she found herself suffering a slow death in darkness.

And, as if a blessing, she found herself conscious once more. Filling her gaze was Dr. Cullen appearing just as he had all those years ago when she was a child, perfectly handsome in every way with kind eyes and a no doubt soft soul.

Then there was fire.

In her bones until she began to think that perhaps the Doctors had decided to attempt to save her life after all, and this was the pain of her body after being so utterly broken.

But it was not, for after what seemed like months and days of unadulterated torture, Esme didn't feel pain again.

She woke to a bedroom well furnished and beautiful the lights were dimmed but Esme could see perfectly even the details of the floral wallpaper.

The smell of wood polish, sweat, and cotton filled her nose as she experienced the world anew.

And she could hear yelling.

Two male voices were arguing and Esme was shocked to realize that one of them was Dr. Cullen's.

Her first thought was to stand, to get to him. Tell him that she was alright, there was no need to yell but as she moved , Esme ran into a shimmering substance in the shape of a large sphere over her bed and a a few of the furnishings nearby.

She startled and whipped around only to find Isabella Cullen sitting primly with a copy of Shakespeare's Sonnets in her hands. How Esme had not noticed the girl, she did not know but she found herself at a loss to figure out what was happening. Because Isabella Cullen who should have been 28 appeared the same as she had at the age of 18.

Suddenly there was a burning in her throat like she had not drank water in years and Isabella spoke in a calm voice that seemed almost urgent if it wasn't for how collected she appeared,

"Forgive me Miss. Platt, I don't mean to keep you locked in this room but Edward is keen on marching in here and destroying you."

Esme could make out the words being said outside of the door now. An unknown male was practically raving, "How old is she?! 23? 26? How could you have been so insensitive?!

"Don't you know what people will say if she joins us?! They'll think she's your wife! Is that what you want?!

"Let me destroy her now before it's finished and she will never have to suffer again!"

"Edward, you know that's not the reason. I recalled her as a young woman and thought it a shame that she was dying after so short a life!" Dr. Cullen seemed to be earnest in his words as he defended his choice. It appeared on the surface to be regarding herself and Esme turned to Isabella for answers.

"You may have noticed I have not changed," Bella smile kindly as if the men outside were not arguing over Esme's life,

"We are a Coven of Vampires. Counting you, there will be 5 of us now. Do not be afraid Miss Platt, we pride ourselves on drinking only the blood of animals."

"You meant to say I'm immortal now?" Esme couldn't believe the turn of events, but could this be a blessing? For all her suffering in life she was to be rewarded an eternal one with Dr. Cullen by her side.

This Edward seemed upset at the idea of Esme being his wife though. As far as she knew, Dr. Cullen was unmarried and had only his siblings, Elisha and Isabella.

"Why does Edward want to kill me?" Esme felt distress so keenly it felt like her bones were going to rattle at the thought of him making it through the door to her.

"He's very protective of me," Isabella confessed and the words made no sense at all to Esme until the girl continued,

"He has begun to view me as somewhat of a motherly figure. It is to be expected as Carlisle and I have opened our home to him, and he is the only member of this Coven would be considered adopted."

"Because you're all siblings?" Esme felt her nerves growing because there was something telling her that her observation was not quite it.

"You remember us well it seems," Isabella laughed softly, "But no, Carlisle and I have been married since 1813 and Elisha is our natural son.

"We adopted Edward shortly after leaving Columbus Ohio. It's on odd dynamic when you consider only our apparent ages but Vampires tend not to see those things."

Gutted.

That was the only way to describe how Esme felt upon hearing those words. To think that even as her crush formed, Dr. Cullen was married to the girl that Esme had thought was his sister!

And for Elisha to be their son! No wonder Isabella went to the shops alone and with apparent ease! For she was both a wife and mother. Two things that Esme had always wanted but now had neither. Jealousy coursed through her at the knowledge that Isabella Cullen was living a perfect life with a perfect husband.

What place could Esme have in such a home?!

The door to the room opened then, causing Esme to instinctively crouch in preparation for an attack, but she calmed quickly when Dr. Cullen entered.

His beauty was even greeter than it had been when she was a girl of 16 and he'd been so kind and gentle. Perhaps it was her new senses which enhanced him so, or the fact that he'd been the one to save her.

Whatever the reason for it, Esme noticed that he was staring at her steadily, as if all his focus was on her.

He did not even spare a glance for Isabella and Esme felt a bit of her hurt pride preen. Perhaps it was a bit childish but she could not help but wonder why a man would want a 16 year old girl.

Esme was a woman of 26, and for what seemed like an eternal moment Dr. Cullen's focus was entirely on her.

Then it was broken when he spoke in his soft tones, "Darling, I need you to lowered your barrier. For I cannot get to you and the thought of you trapped with a newborn is to great even for me."

Her heart felt as if it was being ripped from her chest as the shimmering orb fell and Dr. Cullen moved supernaturally fast to Isabella.

Esme watched almost transfixed as he pulled Isabella close, both arms securely around her, before Dr. Cullen pushed the younger woman behind him as if to keep her safe.

"I'm fine my love," Isabella sounded almost amused but Dr. Cullen's reply seemed to be spoken in distress,

"I know that rationally but I fear Edward's anger has riled me."

Eme's attention on the pair was ripped away when the unknown voice gave itself a face as Edward entered the room as well saying,

"It doesn't help that this woman is apparently in love with you Carlisle. She's practically seething watching you touch Bella.

"Who do you think you are?!"

Esme's anger surged at this young man, though his face was beautiful, his words were cruel, "Don't tell me what I feel!"

"Bella is Carlisle's Mate," Edward actually snarled like a wild animal, snapping his jaws at her, "How dare you presume yourself a better match than the mother of his child, a woman he's loved for over 107 years!"

"Edward, sweetheart, that's enough," Isabella's voice, though kind was stern as she spoke from her place behind Dr. Cullen,

"Carlisle was trying to help her. Miss Platt's feelings say nothing about his own. Be kind, think of your own experience when you awoke."

Esme was surprised when Edward actually appeared cowed by the words, ducking his head as if he was a school boy who'd been told off for dragging mud into the house.

"How do you feel?" Dr. Cullen asked, his words were kind and Emse felt almost bereft by them as she replied,

"Thirsty, like I haven't' had water in ages."

Dr. Cullen smiled at her softly then and Isabella made her way out from behind him before offering Esme her hand,

"Let's get you something to drink Miss Platt."

Esme didn't know what to think about the gesture but took the other woman's hand, "I don't know what to do."

"You do," Isabella replied politely, "You just don't know it yet."

And she was impossibly right.

Hunting came easy.

Too easy some times.

* * *

The property the Cullens were keeping was in the wild of Ontario Canada, it was a lovely forest where she could lose herself when she needed time to process her life as it had become.

Edward treated her warily and while Isabella was kind, it was difficult for Esme to watch the other woman as she danced under the starlight with Carlisle. Love seemed so easy between them and while Esme truly felt he deserved the happiness, she still wished deep inside her heart that it had been with her.

It was selfish and a bit childish, as her fantasies had all been one sided, the fancies of a girl with a crush.

And yet to see him so happily entwined with Isabella who was not quite yet a woman, and would never be, it felt almost cruel.

"They actually planned on waiting until she was 23," Edward declared low enough that neither Bella or Carlisle could hear.

The couple were sitting in the grass star gazing, the night was so clear it was practically glowing and Esme couldn't take her eyes of the two lovers so happily lost to nature.

"Why didn't they?" Esme couldn't help the sadness in her voice as she thought it might have been easier to accept if Isabella didn't look like a teenager.

"She was frozen when she was 18, believe it or not," Edward settled down next to Esme on the porch,

"They were married for a whole year before he became her husband in the eyes of God.

"She became pregnant, back then it wasn't common knowledge that such a thing could occur. Imagine, a Vampire loving a human!

"It the eyes of the majority of our kind it would be like a lion falling in love with a lamb."

Edward shook his head as if lost in memories, but Esme knew he'd never been there. Perhaps he'd seen some of those long gone days with his gift. Her ponderings were interrupted when Edward continued,

"The pregnancy killed her. A lot of Half Born Births end in the mother's death or transformation.

"You know Carlisle has several safe houses scattered over the northern U.S. and Canada. Each one of them is deep in the woods miles away from human settlements. He uses them, when the occasion arises, as Vampire delivery rooms.

"Isn't that funny? He's the world famous Dr. Cullen, the only Vampire that the Volturi will recommend to help deliver your baby because he won't even flinch at the scent of the mother's blood."

"How many has he helped deliver?" Esme found herself amazed at the man and his remarkable self control. And to be not only a Doctor for humans, but to be recognized in the Vampire world as the only one that could safely deliver a child!

"Only him an Bella really know," Edward laughed a bit, probably at her amazement, "She tends to assist him. She feeds the human mothers their special pregnancy diet, sits with them through their transformations, and aids them in getting accustomed to their very special children.

"Bella even teaches them how to cook human food if they don't know how. She's like the world's greatest Midwife!"

"What are you trying to tell me?" Esme felt almost as if he was making a desperate last ditch effort in something only Edward could know.

"Don't compare yourself to her," Edward replied with kindness he hadn't yet shown, "You're going to live just as long as her and Esme Platt is probably going to do some pretty amazing things too.

"Just live and you'll start having stories to tell too. Maybe I'll even tell a few."

3 months into her 'New Born Isolation Period', as Carlisle referred to it, Elisha arrived at the home. The Half Born was handsome in a way Esme hadn't expected. While yes, he was ethereal there was something else about him that seemed far more real than Carlisle ever did.

Elisha greeted his parents who asked after his 'business' which Edward teasingly referred to as 'Missionary Work', and when the Half Born looked up at her Esme felt her life change.

The time she had spent with the Cullens had begun to shift her perspective.

Her girlish crush on Dr. Cullen had become an escapist fantasy, and now that Esme was facing the reality of what being Mrs. Carlisle Cullen would entail she didn't think she actually wanted it.

She couldn't imagine herself spending her life caring for pregnant women and helping them deliver their babies. There was too much grief regarding her own loss to even consider devoting herself to such a thing.

And the more she watch Bella, the more she understood that she wasn't just Mrs. Carlisle Cullen. She was the great shield which protected the home and the larger their Coven grew the stronger that shield would have to be.

Esme herself was ungifted and knew that if she was to be with a man who took on so much responsibility as to aid the equivalent of the Vampire Royal Family with the birthing of Half Vampire children, as well as caring for his own Coven, she thought she might break.

Edward claimed that such children were still quite uncommon and there were some who viewed them as abominations leading to Carlisle becoming a target. Not only had he ushered in the era of Half Borns with his own son, but he also forsook what most considered a Vampire's natural diet.

While the Volturi didn't view him as a threat, there were others who did.

Esme couldn't bear the weight of standing in the shadow of such a man, but there was Bella, who shone brightly right by his side.

So when Elisha's eyes lit up upon meeting her, and Esme felt her heart move in her chest in a phantom beat, she welcomed the pull with everything in her very soul.

Kindness.

Elisha was so kind as they walked his favorite forest path which belonged to 'this' safe house.

Esme was so willing to allow the pull she felt to become love that she fell into it gladly while he held her hand and regaled her with his tales from his wanderings.

"You'd be surprised how many Half Borns Pre-date me," Elisha guided her gently through the woods and tossed her an eager smile,

"Though I'm considered the most famous!"

"I'm sure," Esme returned his joy as she shook her head, the sound of his heart beating enraptured her as the scent of his blood was more like wildflowers than food,

"I find it strange that it took until the 1800s for someone to come to the Volturi!"

"Ah! But my Papa was not just any Vampire," Elisha informed her enthusiastically, "He was the Volturi's own 'Stregone Benefico'!

"The Guard affectionately refers to him as 'The Fourth Brother', even Cauis likes him and Caius hates everyone!"

Esme was once again astounded by Carlisle's reputation but she was surprised to find herself more interested in Elisha's tale, "So why did it take all of that? Why was everyone else afraid?"

"The Volturi look upon change with great suspicion. Especially change involving children," he sighed and turned his gaze out to the trees, no doubt he was looking to the sky and imagining all the others like him out there still waiting to be found,

"After the plague of the Immortal Children, the idea of a Child who was also a Vampire became taboo.

"No doubt those who had Half Born children feared their destruction. My Papa though, he knew that he'd stand before the Volturi again one day and it would be necessary to tell them as soon as he could to save himself and Mama from being labeled traitors.

"A show of great loyalty it was for him to bring me to them before I was fully grown. He trusted them to be just and they were."

Elisha then turned to look at Esme with such affection she knew her heart would be beating wildly if it could,

"He named me 'My God is salvation' and had faith I would not be taken from him. For, like Job, he had suffered his trial already for 173 years and was ready to reap his blessing."

They reached a rather mighty hardwood and Elisha sent her a mischievous smile, "How do you feel about climbing trees?"

Esme laughed as she remembered how she'd first met Dr. Cullen at the age of 16 and realized how far she'd come since back then. As she collected herself she smirked,

"I'll bite as long as it's a race!"

Then took off without so much as a go, leaving Elisha crying foul behind her with so much playfulness that Esme felt like a kid again.

Once they were both safely ensconced at the top of the tree, Esme leaned her head against Elisha's shoulder as she took in the view.

They spoke of the future, for when he left again, Esme would follow gladly.

It wasn't perfect but it was theirs.

Esme took on the name Cullen when their Coven made a home in in Helena, Montana She and Elisha began their married life together 2 years after her transformation and meeting, their wedding was an event as private as they could manage

Carlisle and Bella along with Edward took up a home which they'd previously lived in. As a wedding gift for their son and daughter in law, they purchased a house not too far from their property and gave them the deed.

Time, they all spent time together becoming a family and on her anniversary, Bella offered to teach Esme how to make Elisha's favorite meals.

While Elisha could cook for himself, Emse took pleasure in preparing his meals, but Bella had never given her son his most favored recipes.

Bella very happily informed Esme that she was his home now and it was her right to know them and do what she wished with the information. Esme felt like she could weep as she embraced her mother in law.

In a quiet moment as the made a cottage pie Esme confessed she was afraid that nothing would be as perfect as the time they spent with the rest of the family.

The older woman, for Bella had hundreds of years on Esme, informed her while wearing a bright smile,  
"It's not about perfection. The pull of a Mating Bond is just a kind hint about who would be worth the work and will be equally willing to labor alongside you as you both seek happiness.

"You won't find it immediately, but one day, maybe 50 or 60 years from now you'll stop and realize there is absolutely nothing you would trade for the life and love you share."

Work, it would be a lot of it since Elisha was technically nomadic. He stayed for a few years with his parents but always left again to fine more Half Borns which came before.

Esme thought it would be nice to see the world and if they did settle down with her in laws on occasion, she wouldn't mind teaching.

And she did.

It was funny how words of wisdom come back to you.

But Isabella's words in the kitchen, as they made her family's special cottage pie recipe that dated back to the regency era, came to Esme as she was shepherding children out of Forks Little Duckling Day Care.

Angela Webber waved at her as she and Beau Swan picked up her 7 year old twin brothers in what Edward constantly referred to as 'that nightmare of a truck' and Esme realized that she was so happy with her life she could burst.

There were mistakes, Esme was not perfect, but she her joy was complete and Isabella was right.

She wouldn't change a second of it.


	3. Rosalie Hale

Life had a way of coming around and changing like a strike of lightening.

Rosalie Hale knew that the moment she woke up in a beautiful but ornate house after going through absolute hell twice.

Her death had been brutal and in her final moments the face of two people whom she hated appeared.

Bella Cullen was on her Uncle's arm and she had announced, "I'm going to do it Carlisle."

Then she'd leaned over Rosalie as she lay dying feeling hopeless and bit her neck.

It was like hell fire coursing through her. She knew that she was screaming but didn't know how to stop it, how to fix it. Her body felt like it was growing so cold that it was beginning to burn as her flesh was peeled off of her bones.

Agony was a gentle was to describe the torment which Rosalie experienced in those days. Over and over she wished and prayed to whatever God could be listening for her suffering to end, for her death to finally over take her.

And when it was over she realized that she was not alone in the room.

Next to the bed sat Bella Cullen and in her hands was some book that Rosalie didn't care to take in the details of. She could have though as everything was somehow brighter, clearer and more intense than it had ever been.

There were several people milling about the house and Rosalie could pick out 4 distinct voices in their cacophony. Someone was cooking but it didn't smell appetizing at all and a woman was laughing. A distant pitter patter could be heard like the sound of a water leaking through a roof during a rain storm.

Rosalie's throat was burning as if she'd had a bad infection but she knew somehow that illness was not the cause of her distress.

And there was a smell like resin and cleaner, almost as if the room she'd been laid up within had been sanitized. She realized that it must have been for there was no blood and her clothes were not the ones she'd been wearing when she stumbled upon her fiance and his friends.

It was a beautiful night dress, which she destroyed along with the sheet as she bolted upright and out of the bed, her hand tearing the linens. When Rosalie yelped at the event she hugged herself tightly only to find the beautiful night dress which she was in searing where her nails dug into it.

"How are you feeling?" Bella asked calmly, kindness practically rolled of of the girl who was only a year or two Rosalie's junior but the quiet maturity made her seem older.

Bella Cullen may not have been blonde and tall, or curvy, but her beauty was always enough to strike something in the men which observed her. Even Rosalie had been jealous of her and even Bella's brother Edward was gorgeous. Not to mention Dr. Cullen their Uncle and Care Taker whom the women Rosalie knew always had a thing to say regarding after a session with him.

They were all beautiful to an almost inhuman degree but Bella had been the worst for Rosalie.

As a young unmarried woman near Rosalie's own age, Bella Cullen had been the the talk of many a town house. With her luscious mahogany hair, porcelain skin, a tiny waist and even more delicate wrists and ankles. She possessed and angelic beauty that called to mind fae from the tales Rosalie was told as a child.

Some women claimed that Edward and Dr. Cullen were practically fending men off with sticks day and night because of her.

Though Rosalie always felt it was an exaggeration, after all, what respectable man would pursue her when she seemed to blow icily towards anyone who even glanced at her in appreciation.

"My throat burns," Rosalie said instead of voicing her myriad of thoughts, "What am I doing here? Why aren't I in the hospital?"

"You were dying," Bella reminded her not unkindly, "In order to save you, and I had to save you Miss Hale, I needed to change you."

"Into what?!" Rosalie felt her anger rising at the idea that this girl had made such a grand choice for her! The imperiousness of it!

"A Vampire," Bella delivered her reply evenly, honestly and most importantly, in the same moment that Rosalie caught sight of herself in the vanity mirror.

Her eyes were red like twin rubies under a light, her hair was not just blonde, but the same beautiful honey she'd always seen on Dr. Cullen's head. Rosalie felt horror as she realized that even her skin was more flawless than it had been before.

Every little flaw she'd ever worried about others taking notice of were gone.

The curve of her noes was no longer too deep and the swell of her lips were perfectly shaped as if a sculptor had created her from an over worshipful memory.

There was the sound of someone coming and Rosalie felt fear seize her. She did not know how to handle seeing one of the men at the moment. Her rage and anxiety spiked and clawed through her causing a low rumble to begin in her chest.

Rosalie's teeth clenched and she noted that Bella was standing slowly as she continued speaking calmly, "Do not worry Miss Hale, it is only my daughter in law. Esme will not harm you."

The name was unfamiliar to her but Rosalie found herself more struck by the concept of someone so young as Bella having a 'daughter in law'. Any questions she had were put on hold as the woman in question entered the room.

Looking at Esme Cullen was like seeing a fairy tale princess for the first time.

Unlike Bella, Esme was indeed a woman. Rosalie judged her to be in her mid twenties with shoulder lengthen hair which shared a color with dark oak wood.

"It's good to see you're up Miss Hale," Esme smiled and the curve of her mouth was kind, "We've all been anxious to meet with you."

Emse moved forwards and Rosalie felt herself move back instinctively. Bella lifted her arm and held her hand, palm out towards Esme as she took a single step forwards. She wasn't between them but there was enough intent and force behind the action that Rosalie understood that Bella was protecting HER and not Esme.

Something in her relaxed as she realized that Bella was clearly on her side should there come an altercation.

"What if I don't want to meet with them?!" Rosalie felt herself snarling like an animal and it was almost shocking but she did not dwell on it as the more pressing issue was the woman in front of her,

"What if I just wanted to die?! You should have let me die!"

Rosalie backed away from the door and her shoulders hit the wall, a crunching noise echoed through the room. Turning her attention to where he back had mad contact with the wall paper, Rosalie could see cracks formed and a small dent where she'd leaned.

Grief at the damage swept through her, the room had been so beautiful and she'd destroyed it!

Sliding down to the ground Rosalie curled in on herself causing Bella to approach her slowly only to stop a good 6 feet away.

Her kind tone and expression had not altered in the least, "If you truly wish to die Miss Hale, there are still ways.

"But I ask that you at least make an attempt at this second chance. You are hurting and full of grief over what has happened but I want you to know that Esme and I are here for you.

"We may be Vampires but we aren't monsters. Our family feeds only on animals and while the thirst is difficult to control at first I have no doubt that you, like all of us, will rise above it."

Rosalie stared up at her, a girl she hated from afar and wondered how long she'd lived to be so kind and gentle. How many things had she seen to be so at ease when Rosalie herself felt like her mind was tearing her in a million directions.

"You must be very hungry, and big decisions should not be made on an empty stomach" Bella smiled brightly, a hint of her playful youth actually showing,

"How about we get you something to drink?"

One pale slender hand reached out in offering and Rosalie, despite her fear and anger, took it.

As Rosalie began to learn as well as understand what she had become, her rage against her fiance and his friends had not ebbed or faded.

Royce King had taken her her trust in him and torn it to shreds in an act of gruesome violence that Rosalie didn't know if she'd ever recover.

It was difficult watching Dr. Cullen with his arms around Bella. The pair seemed happy to waltz in the grassy fields while the sun shimmered and cause their skin to light up like diamonds. All the while Elisha played the violin in tandem with Edward's fingers which danced across the keys of a piano forte he'd carried onto the porch.

Esme had her eyes closed listening her her husband and brother in law as she swayed to whatever song they'd decided to play.

"Do you want to dance?"

Rosalie was surprised that Emse had opened her eyes and turned to her with a smile, "There's not rule that says you and I can't have some fun too."

Esme leaned her head to indicate Dr. Cullen who had taken hold of Bella's hips and began to spin her while they both laughed like children.

"I-"Rosalie took the time to formulate a response to the other woman. Esme's husband was too busy playing the violin to dance with his wife and while he could conceivably stop and allow Edward to play solo, he looked to be having too much fun to do so.

As for other options, she could cut in and ask to dance with Bella, but Rosalie's feelings were still muddled. Even more now that she had realized that the younger girl was not only Dr. Cullen's wife, but also the mother of a Half Human child.

It seemed like such a fairy tale to have lived! As for Dr. Cullen, Rosalie's instincts to protect herself still riled when she was approached by any of the men. She wanted to trust them as they all had been kind and gentle with her but she still felt a restlessness.

A lack of resolution.

What good was being practically invincible if she hasn't been able to protect herself when it mattered?

In the end she shook her head and declined. It was too carefree an act to perform when she was still so unsure.

It wasn't long before Rosalie realized what she had to do.

Bella was in charge of her, and Rosalie knew the woman would likely not permit her actions so she used her superior new born senses and speed to sneak away from the home in the woods.

Rochester was not far for a Vampire and what she planned would take no longer than a week.

It was difficult, having to sneak out but she managed during a time that Edward the mind reader was out hunting with Dr. Cullen and Esme. Bella and Elisha were the only members of the family still in the home when Rosalie made her plan and fled.

There was a chance they would chase her but she was faster than all of them at the moment. She had only been a Vampire for perhaps a month and a half and her control was already astounding them all. Her pride in herself was powerful and she was determined for it not to waver.

Over the next week and a half, Rosalie hunted down each one of the men who had killed her. She made sure to leave her fiance Royce for last so that he knew she was coming.

He would live with fear for days until she finally ended it.

As she saw the life drain from his eyes, Rosalie felt a burden ease of her no longer human heart and her pride swelled as she had not drank a single drop of their blood. No more would any of them torment her when she closed her eyes as she could assure herself that these monsters would not harm any one else.

It felt good.

She felt such relief that she laughed and smiled and danced her entire way back to the woods where she'd found herself reborn.

Yet when she returned to the cabin that the Cullens kept, Rosalie found reason to pause.

There was no pitter patter of a heartbeat that spoke of Elisha's presence, and from the sounds inside the home she could tell that there were only 2 Cullens in residence.

When she entered the home, her eyed found Bella and Dr. Cullen standing like stone statues. The pair were at their most inhuman as neither of them were breathing or blinking. No, they did not even smile as she entered.

"What's going on?" Rosalie frowned her excellent mood dimming, she had known they'd be upset as they valued human life to the point that they formed a whole different diet than what others considered natural.

"Where were you Miss Hale?" Dr. Cullen spoke and his voice was tight as if it was a struggle to keep the soft kindness which was ever present,

"Bella has been worried about you. The whole family has been."

There was a sinking feeling forming in her stomach as worry flooded her. If she was still human, Rosalie knew she'd be feeling sick,

"I'm sure Edward told you what I've been considering these few days."

"We had hoped you'd come to us before you actually acted," Bella replied and for the first time in the presence of Dr. Cullen, Rosalie felt fear as she watched him close his eyes while pressing his lips together.

He did not move besides those small things and Rosalie's mind was screaming at her to run, danger, he was going to kill her. None of the signals her mind was flashing made sense and Bella took a step forwards, distress clear in her face,

"How did you kill them Rosalie, I need to know if the authorities would be able to tell it was you."

"What does it matter?" Rosalie pushed back her fear and distress but it flared up once more as Dr. Cullen opened his eyes and there was a blazing fire in them.

"It matters because you're a newborn who was created by my wife and if you were conspicuous enough for the humans to notice then the Volturi will notice.

"And if the Volturi notice, not only will your life be forfeit but my beloved wife who created you, who made you her first born daughter from love and kindness will also die!"

The barley contained rage in his voice caused Rosalie to shudder at the though of what he was saying. She had barely a clue what the Volturi were besides a powerful coven which sent Vampires with their pregnant mates to Dr. Cullen and Bella for care.

The calm, and kind Doctor who had never seemed anything but an infinite pool of steady waters was now before her clearly on the verge of actual anger. Rosalie couldn't help but back away from him.

Bella put a gentle hand on her husband's chest and he seemed to relax minutely, but his tense emotions did not waver as his wife spoke softly yet with a hint of desperation,

"Darling, please, we don't know if the situation is so dire. This could still be attributed to corporate greed as Royce King and his friends were all very rich."

"And if they don't?" Dr. Cullen's eyes did not leave Rosalie for a second as he asked the question. He was clearly wrestling something, and it appeared to be a great battle,

"Do you expect me to stand by and let them kill you for someone else's selfish mistakes? I have lived these 120 years with you by my side.

"I will not go back to my loneliness Bella, my wait for you was far too bleak and now that I have had you there will be no other."

"Carlisle," Bella's eyes seemed to sparkle with tears that Rosalie knew would never fall, for she had cried a thousand time since her change and had never given her grief release.

"The situation is not so bleak, but we must help Rosalie understand why it might become so."

Dr. Cullen closed his eyes and opened them after having turned to finally face his wife, "How is it that you are always the depth to my still waters?

"My greatest Gift form God who shines like a beacon of angelic like through the bleak depths of Gehenna. When I am lost you shall find me and when I am weak you carry me through."

"It's not difficult," Bella gazed up at him with such loved that Rosalie was forced to look away, "You have done the same for me after all."

Dr. Cullen finally seemed to be getting his emotion cooled as he addressed Rosalie once more, "Every action you take right now will bear consequences for Bella as she created you.

"Edward is currently with Elisha and Esme in Rochester as they gather information on how the Police are going to rule your actions. If they are suspicious enough our entire Coven may be in danger."

"We should have explained the absolute need for secrecy sooner," Bella tried to soothe the anxiety that was rising in Rosalie, it must have shown plainly on her face as the girl continued,

"And I am not so innocent, I should have watched you better and perhaps Edwards should have come to you and had a talk.

"This is simply a mistake. I know if you'd been told you would have waited to exact your revenge or at least been a bit less theatric about it."

Detaching herself from Dr. Cullen, Bella approached Rosalie as if she was a skittish animal and it would have been amusing if she didn't actually feel like one in the moment.

Gently, like a mother, Bella took Rosalie's hands into her own, "You are my first born daughter, I will do my best to protect you from now on.

"I'm sorry I've failed so horrifically so early in your life with us."

In her chest, Rosalie's heart ached like it was being weighed down with a new grief. She had not been a Vampire long at all and Bella had no doubt been doing her best. How long had it taken the others to gain control?

How many months were they trained and instructed in the ways of this life and the laws which came with it before even considering being in the same room as a human.

"Don't be sorry," Rosalie frowned as a bitter anger began to swell inside of her, not at Bella but at herself. Bella and Esme had both offered to be there for her and she'd still taken matters into her own hands without even considering them.

Now she was facing those consequences before she had even really decided if she wished to keep the life she now had.

"You've been doing amazing and I just haven't wanted your help," Rosalie took a breath she didn't' actually need to as the wight of everything she had just learned came down on her,

"But you did your best to save me that night and every day since, I hadn't realized how much you'd taken on making that choice.

"I do now. I do."

* * *

They were lucky.

Rosalie's mistake was reportedly written off as gang violence and a greed for money which belonged to Royce King's family bank.

Having survived that scare, Rosalie determined not to make another mistake again. Not that having her revenge was something she regretted. No, she agreed with Bella's assessment. Less theatrics and attention would have been fine in hindsight.

The house filled again with the rest of the Cullens and Rosalie became more open to learning.

As she did she began to think more in Vampiric terms.

Esme, being oldest physically having been frozen at 26, was in actuality only 38 years old. In contrast, Elisha who was born in 1814 was 119.

Once she began to comprehend that, it was easier to stop looking at Bella like she was a girl. After all the matriarch of their Coven was 137, having been 18 when she gave birth to her son. So being married to a 293 year old Vampire Doctor wasn't actually such a large age difference in those terms.

But there was still something which was bothering her.

And after having joined the Coven for about 2 years, and they were wintering in Richmond, Kentucky while they chose their next long term location.

Elisha and Esme had not departed yet for their next 'Mission of Mercy' as Edward lovingly called them, so the Half Vampire and his mate were cooking up a storm in their kitchen.

Edward and Carlisle were hunting in Cumberland Gap and Rosalie found herself learning to play chess from Bella.

It was a pastime that she hadn't considered until she realized that their little family enjoyed a good chess competition on occasion and Rosalie always happy to win a contest.

"It's funny," Rosalie knew it probably seemed as if it was coming from nowhere, but she had grown to love Bella, even if she'd never truly began to feel any real affection for the life she now had.

Her new family was irreplaceable, but Rosalie wished that she'd been given a chance to find another husband, have her own children, and perhaps not be such a slave to their diet of blood.

It was a curse, she knew, once every single member of their Coven bore well. Even Elisha who didn't have to drink blood admitted to it's allure on occasion.

Carlisle being the only exception to the rule as he had apparently mastered his thirst for blood completely somewhere around his second century. Bella seemed well on her way to the same fate and Edward seemed to think it boded well for all of them.

"What's funny Honey?" Bella smirked at the rhyme and Rosalie rolled her eyes at it. The older woman was a mother through and through and there was moments that Rosalie couldn't help but think of her in the same way that Edward and Elisha did.

"When I didn't know you I hated you kind of," Rosalie huffed out a laugh at Bella's horrible fake expression of disbelief.

"You hated me? That really hurts, I actually thought we were best friends with all those shopping trips and tea parties we were having," Bella radiated smugness as Rosalie began to snort at the words which were dripping with sarcasm.

That was something else.

While Esme appeared older and was so sweet she could probably make a Vampire's teeth fall out, Bella's tongue was a sharp blade of steel which was equally as powerful as the immovable barrier which was her gift.

"I just mean that I just realized how strange it is that I used to think you as that rudely gorgeous brat and now you're practically my new mom," Rosalie felt like she was offering up a confession and Bella made her move on the board before giving a toothy smile.

"I've always hoped you'd become a daughter to me," Bella revealed, sometimes she seemed as impenetrable as her shield and Rosalie felt honored as the woman told her,

"When you were human and I saw you I thought I was going crazy because you reminded me of my cousin Lydia."

Leaning forward Rosalie's attention was glued to the tale Bella was about to weave, her expression must have been something because the older woman laughed before she continued,

"She looked so much like you, blonde and beautiful with gem colored eyes. Lydia Overton was also very rich and determined to lure in an Earl for a husband with her 20 thousand pound dowry."

That made Rosalie smile as she recalled her birth mother dressing her up just to deliver her father's lunch so she could attract Royce King's attention.

"How could you have given all that up?" Rosalie sighed lost in the idea of a simpler time of lords, ladies, and gentlemen,

"I know Carlisle changed everyone when they were dying but you were different. You died giving birth to Elisha and knew what Carlisle was going to do.

"How could you have thrown away a life like that?"

Bella exhaled and leaned back into her chair thoughtfully. No doubt visions of her human life in tea rooms of the wealthy swam before her eyes.

"You know when Carlisle first told me what he was and that he loved me, he said these words," Bella tilted her head and grinned,

" ' I have committed a sin against God to love you, but in my old age I have grown selfish and in my loneliness I loved you, hoping against all hope that you would love me too.' "

Bella sighed then, "Carlisle had always been kind and solicitous to me. He'd been the only gentlemen to ask me to dance.

"He had always showed an interest in what I was reading and my thoughts on the world. There were times when I got lost in his stories about his travels on the continent and days where I was enraptured by how well read he was."

Turning her attention to Elisha who was at the moment dancing with Esme while the radio played, Bella's smile grew soft,

"I couldn't see him as the monster the church insisted that Vampires were. And I'm going to tell you what I told him."

Rosalie found herself enraptured by the story, a history, as Bella stared into her eyes, "'Love, when it is good and true can never be a sin.'

"Rosalie I've come to find that when you form a Mating Bond, it seems to always lead to that kind of love that is gentle and kind but full of passion and life.

"Our life is hard but bringing others into it, it's not a sin. We make a vow of love when we add to our family and It's our hope to help you eventually find happiness."

If she were human Rosalie would have been crying as she felt her emotions overwhelm her, "I'm trying but I don't know if I can."

"You'll get there one day," Bella assured her warmly, "And we'll be here for you for every step of it."

Taking those words to heart, Rosalie's love for Bella grew tenfold.

And when she found her chance at that kind of love bleeding and dying, it was Bella she begged for help as for the first time she did not wish to have lived her human life through.

No, Rosalie's deepest wish changed that day when she found her Mate.

A perfect world wold not have been one whee she married a human man and had children, living until they were old and grey.

A perfect world would have been the one where Emmett had been turned first, and Rosalie had the chance to be his human love, where Carlisle and Bella helped them bring a Half Born baby into the world.

It was still a dream that would never come true, but she couldn't help but think that it was a happier one.


	4. Emmett McCarty

Life sucked and then you died, that's just how it was sometimes.

But Emmett McCarty had always strove to live his life to the fullest, the funnest, and the most ridiculously wild limits.

He was the kind of guy who at the age of 20, worked hard at the railroad every weekday preferring to spend the rest of his free time finding new mountains to climb with and blazing trails to wander.

Big game hunting for both sport and food was an absolute thrilling past time and Emmett considered it the most fun a guy could have without getting sloshed, betting a paycheck, or taking his clothes off.

Only by slim margin though there were plenty of things he enjoyed all of them were experienced in the wilds of his backyard of Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

The forests shrouding both his home and haunt of Knoxville provided plenty of sport and fun for him an his friends as they searched for their next big query be it either a beautiful woman or a jackpot waiting to be won.

It was a an accident of circumstances then, when he found himself alone on a hunt for food in order to provide for his family. His brothers and sister were always grateful when he brought meat home seeing as he was an excellent hunter of plenty.

So when she, the bear, came at him, Emmett hadn't seen it coming.

He's struggled of course, it's what you do when you get mauled by a bear.

He also never saw her, Rosalie, coming as she with inhumane strength pulled the black bear from him and took it's life in the flash of a second.

Through the haze of broken bones, blood, and pain Emmett could only wheeze out, "Are you an Angel?"

The blonde woman smiled sadly at hims as she cupped his face in her hands and desperately cried out, "Oh God, I can't do it, I'm so sorry. You need to hold on alright? Just a little while till I can get you home."

The words seemed muffled and out of focus just like the rest of the world but he had the distinct feeling that she was going to save him. That if anyone could it was going to be the impossibly angelic woman who was making his dying heart feel like singing.

From there he was in an out of consciousness. Edward would tell him that Rosalie had carried him over 100 miles from his home woods surrounding Gatlinburg all the way to Richmond, Kentucky where the Cullens had been staying.

The last real human memory that wasn't those three days of an absolute nightmare of fire and brimstone was being laid on the floor and hearing that angelic voice begging,

"Please, save him Mama. Please."

And then it all ended in white fire like a star going supernova in his veins.

At first, when he woke to the world with eyes fresh an clear in a way he'd never seen it before, he thought it had all been a dream. Emmett had spent plenty of times getting drunk and sleeping in cabins with friend.

But this cabin wasn't one he had ever slept in before.

Firstly it smelled strongly of cleaners and fresh soap, there was a hint of must and sweat in his clothes while outside birds were singing like it was just another day. The moonlight played out the window and onto the floor but despite the dark Emmett could clearly see the room as if it was day.

Slowly he sat up and out of the corner of his eye he found a beautiful girl.

Her hair was so long it went down to her hips and practically sparkled in the moonlight, she had skin like ivory which held amber eyes which looked otherworldly. Tiny wrists to match her tiny waste, the girl was spritely and couldn't be more than 16, older than his little sister but younger than himself.

"I can't believe God is a woman," Emmett gaped and as he spoke his throat lit on fire as if it'd been dried out by a desert sun.

The girl smiled though with an amused twinkle in her eye as she replied calmly with all the grace of a queen,

"I am not God, how could I be when I don't know your name."

"Emmett, Emmett McCarty," he felt compelled to reply but his mind was twisting and turning in loops and swirls,

"Where's the girl? The one who found me, she saved me."

"My daughter Rosalie is actually on her way up if you can hear," the woman tilted her head towards the door and Emmett was startled to find that among the insects chirping outside there was indeed the sound of footsteps drawing close.

But they were not indoors, no, they sounded as if they were coming through a forested area just outside the cabin.

"I'm Isabella Cullen, you can call me Bella," the girl remained calm and graceful as Emmett felt his own pull to get outside and greet that woman becoming more powerful each second.

"I can see you're eager to meet Rose, but there are some things you need to know," Bella stood slowly and for some reason Emmett was compelled to stand, an action which broke the wooden bed frame as he move away from her which caused Bella only to freeze,

"You were dying and beyond human help, in order to save you Rosalie asked that I make you one of us.

"Mr. McCarty you've just awoken to the life of a newborn Vampire and for the next few months things are going to be intense."

The steps outside passed through a door which opened and shut, they were followed by a pair of lighter feet Emmett hadn't noticed before and caused his hackles to rise.

"He's already awake," a male voice spoke and suddenly Emmett was seeing red and growling like a wolf, he was gnashing his teeth at the thought of another man being near the woman who had saved him. Rosalie.

Rose.

The door opened and he moved faster than he ever knew possible and crashed into nothing.

Emmett felt himself land on his ass as pain coursed through his body. He looked at his torso and found cracks, like a boulder which had been struck with a pick, slowly beginning to seal up.

Turning his attention towards the door found it opened with Rosalie in the company of what was indeed a man.

First Emmett was enraptured by the sight of her, all beauty and truth like snow in the winter which blanketed the ground and heralded days of warmth in front of a fire. Eyes like whiskey and hair akin to veins of rich gold.

Her bearing spoke of power and regulation in the form of the most captivating woman he'd ever laid eyes on.

Then he noticed there was a shimmering sud bubble between himself and the angel who'd given him this new chance at life.

Movement caught his notice again and it was the man he'd somehow forgotten, or lost track of. He was moving along the wall inching his way towards Bella in silence.

"I'm safe darling," the man whispered but Emmett could still hear it. At first he thought the man was talking to Rosalie, the angel, which caused his growl which hadn't ceased to deepen in it's noise.

But, instead it was Bella who responded, "Stay near me love."

Then the shimmering clear wall fell.

A lot of things happened then.

Bella was grabbed by the waist and hauled bodily by the man out of the room, while Emmett found himself drawn to Rosalie in the way that fire loved dry brush or pain loved whiskey.

Rosalie reached for him and Emmett reached right back as she smiled like a bonfire, "I'm about to show you how to really hunt."

And the promise of her company, a hunt, and her touch was enough to drive him wild.

As she led him out of the home, he found himself breaking at least two doorknobs which only had her laughing and promising, "Don't worry, you're going to get used to being as strong as a lion."

Rosalie was a predator and Emmett couldn't help but feel the stirring of his heart begin to take the type of root that only the grandest and most ancient of oaks did when they first sprouted.

Bella and that man were always a stones throw away as Emmett learned from Rosalie the way to stalk his prey not as a human hunter, but an apex predator. Utilizing his now superior speed, sense of smell, sight, and strength.

It was like waking up to a world full of starlight as they practically flew through the woods under the starlit night.

Later there would be time to miss his family and friends but in the moment Emmett was a creature of pure instinct happy to follow the lead of a beautiful woman who showed him how sweet it felt to simply lose himself to brand new instincts.

Finally when the burn in his throat had ebbed until it was cool, he laid on the forest floor and was happy as Rosalie too joined him. He hair spread like a halo around her as the top of her head rested just above his left shoulder, their legs were stretched out liek the hands of a clock which had struck half past midnight.

As he had calmed he noticed Bella and the man who had kept watch with her make their way into the clearing.

Emmett realized with a start that Bella was holding his hand, staying roughly a step behind him as if being protected.

The man appeared at ease and Emmett realized that he possessed the same bright blonde hair that Rosalie did, with similar colored eyes but their more defining features were quite different.

That night under the moon Carlisle Cullen explained the way of life his family followed and welcomed Emmett into their home.

Later Edward, Esme, and Elisha joined them with human food, Emmett thought it was an odd thing to bring. But he could heart the rabid lubdublubdub of Elisha's strange heart and rushing blood, so he asked,

"How come he smells like lemon grass? I mean, I expected people to smell like food but he's more like a pot of potpourri."

Edward laughed at the words while Carlisle and Bella simply shook their heads in amusement. It was Esme who pat him on the arm,

"Because he's not food."

Emmett looked at her, his expression filled with the incredulousness that was washing through him causing Esme to laugh and Elisha himself to finally inform him,

"Because I'm not human. I'm only half on my mother's side, even if she isn't anymore. Right Mama?"

To Emmett's surprise Bella replied from her place curled on the floor with Carlisle who was reading some book,

"That's right, and we all love you very much."

"Even though I'd kill to get a nights rest like he can," Esme laughed and it was like the tinkling of a bell.

Elisha wrapped his arms around Esme then and said, "AH, but I don't like to sleep, because then I'd miss a moment with you."

He kissed her then and it was one of the many ways Emmett saw the Cullens love for each other. This was a beautiful family, once much like his own and he regretted leaving them with little answers and the lack of income he provided.

Looking at the place his hand was curled with Rosalie's as she played a match of chess against Edward, Emmett couldn't bring himself to regret his new life, but he wished to help his old one still.

Edward's gaze found him and Emmett figured the guy was reading his thoughts on the matters and was proven right when he approached him a few days later.

"Y'know if you ask, Carlisle and Bella will be happy to leave something for your family," Edward informed him as they made their way out to the forest in order to hunt,

"Rosalie left people behind too, but they were well off and didn't need our help. Just ask, their kind of gonna be your mom and dad too soon."

Emmett shook his head, "Carlisle maybe, but Bella's like 12."

He shuddered a bit at the reminder that they were together, romantically. It was strange to see her being held by a man so much older. At least Emmett and Rosalie were genuinely only about 1 year apart, her being only a year older.

It was easier for him to reconcile Esme and Elisha, after all, they actually looked the same age.

Everything about Carlisle seemed perfect but for Emmett it was always broken when he dragged Bella off into secluded places. Emmett knew they were making love in those moments and for him it was strange and so he tried not to think on it so much.

He had Rosalie after all to distract him with her own passions.

And there were many that they shared.

"Rosalie and Esme thought the same way," Edward laughed a bit then, "I did too, but she takes care of us just as much as Carlisle does.

"Once you toss off your human coils and begin to see the world like a Vampire, it'll happen. After all, she Created You."

Edward was right that day, but the first thing he was right about was Carlisle and Bella's willingness to depart with a small fortune for Emmett to leave for his birth family.

With the help of the telepath, Emmett ensured it got to them, and knowing they would be set for life was enough for him to fully embrace the life he had with Rosalie.

Emmett made a lot of mistakes.

He killed a lot of people compared to the others in the Coven and he'd have struggled with it if he were anyone else, but he knew what he was. Emmett knew he'd get it right eventually, he just had to keep picking himself back up. Perhaps they'd even be able to stop moving because of him.

As time trundled on, Emmett began to slot into the new family he'd found.

Edward was growing to be his favorite brother as he was always ready to wrestle, race, or play a game of their own imaginings.

Baseball was, according to Carlisle, and impossibility, but they still had plenty of other ways to horse around together.

Emmett's opinion on Elisha was that he had too much of Carlisle in him. He was fun but never got too wild, he thought of himself as someone that needed to set an example and be 'responsible'.

But even though she was always taking care of them, Bella was fun and carefree compared to her Mate, and she was perfectly ready to kick Edward or Rosalie's ass if prompted. Emmett found that while she appeared delicate she was stronger than both Rosalie and Edward.

"It's all the back breaking work she did as a human," Rosalie had laughed when Emmett watched Bella hand Edward's ass to him during a session of post hunt bonding.

"Wait, are you saying she was a maid or something?" Emmett looked between his brand new fiance and Carlisle who was watching his Mate toss around the telepath.

"She wasn't a maid but of a poorer class than one usually imagines when you think of Regency Era England," Carlisle spoke easily as if he was remembering something particularly interesting,

"Much like Miss Price in the novel Mansfield Park, only she was taken in for only half as season."

"I don't read Carlisle," Emmett replied half jokingly to the reference to a Novel he'd never even heard of,

"I'm curious if she can kick your ass though."

Carlisle laughed then, a full laugh that came from deep in his chest, "Probably, she's stronger than me in many ways and is the light that guides me in this dark path we walk."

Emmett mulled over the words and realized his feelings were extremely close to how he himself felt about Rosalie.

"He get's really poetic when you ask about their story," Rosalie leaned into Emmett's shoulder and he couldn't help but enjoy the press of her against him.

It was still a bit weird, thinking about how young Bella looked compared to Carlisle but slowly they became normal. He didn't know when or how but it had.

And Edward was right about that too.

Because Emmett found himself calling her 'Ma' on in the same breathe that he'd call Carlisle 'Pops'.

* * *

  
Meeting the Denali was strange.

Their Coven made quite the move to Alaska to join up with who Bella kept referring to as, "Our beloved cousins."

Which was funny, because every time she said it Edward made quite the face implying that he found at least one of them less than 'beloved'. Emmett couldn't wait for that particular amusement to unfold.

Elisha and Esme had decided to head out to Europe for what Edward was calling their 'Holy Mission' and Emmett had thought it was amusing enough to imitate much to the bemusement of their adoptive parents.

And wasn't that funny.

Emmett had never thought he'd consider himself adopted, but he was and the fact which made it even stranger was that his 'parents' had a biological child but couldn't have anymore so technically they'd just started adopting.

Edward found it funny but Rosalie didn't so Emmett only thought about it after his initial realization and announcement in the middle of a particularly enjoyable day of family fun which included a chess tournament then a few more outdoorsy sports.

Emmett was glad they had figured out a way to play soccer with a medicine ball, and it was almost as fun as baseball probably would have been.

"We'll get to play baseball in Denali," Edward announced from his place in the very backseat of the Packard.

When Carlisle had declared their road trip to Alaska Emmett had been thrilled to find out the man had purchased an actual 6 seater Packard Super Eight Model 1004.

Rosalie's eyes had lit up like fireworks at the sight of it, the beast was fresh off the line and capable of going 101 miles per hour, a task Carlisle was perfectly willing to put to the test while Edward played 'cop spotter' with his telepathy.

"It's far enough away from civilization that we get to live however we want when we visit," Rosalie declared in a salacious tone that tended to get Emmett all the right kind of eager.

Edward moaned in disgust the way only a telepathic sibling could causing Emmett to shush him,

"You're just jealous I've got the best girl there is!"

That earned him a kiss on the cheek from Rosalie, but just Edward ignored the comment and carried on the conversation,

"Now that your here there's 5 of us and we'll be able to play Coven on Coven."

"You're just happy you don't have to be on Tanya's team this year," Rosalie teased viciously and Emmett figured that was the one Edward didn't quite have tender feelings for as he replied,

"And you're just smug because you get to gloat that you found your mate first even though you'd only been looking for 2 years."

"Stings don't it," Rosalie smiled with teeth and Emmett felt a bit wrong footed and was grateful when Carlisle called back to them,

"Rosalie, don't be mean to Edward and Edward please don't antagonize Rose."

"Or your cousins," Bella turned her gaze back on them and that combined with Carlisle's words were enough to chill the atmosphere a bit.

The Olympic Peninsula, which Emmett learned their Coven was named for, was so beautiful it ached. Heaven couldn't compare to the amount of game they could hunt, the freedom to just exist as they were meant to.

He had been suspicious at first of his welcome, after all he was technically only a year old and was having a hard time adjusting to their 'Vegetarian' diet. But Tanya had taken one look at him and declared,

"He looks like a big puppy! Rose, I can't believe you decided to hog him all to yourself."

"First come first serve Tanya," Rosalie replied saucily as she clung to Emmett's arm protectively and that had been that.

Carlisle and Bella made introductions and once again Emmett was smacked across the head with his human misconceptions of things as it was explained that Tanya was the one running the show.

Maybe he'd looked at them and just assumed that since Carmen and Eleazar looked the oldest and were the only Mated pair, that they were in charge. But no, Tanya was which shined through in how they all turned to her in the same way that his own Coven all looked to Carlisle and Bella when in need.

Life on the tundra was completely different than life among humans. It was more natural somehow. Emmett figured since they were predators that it was just easier for them to be their truest selves in the natural wilds with no one but nature to see. It was a wonder to see the magic liberation it appeared to work on each member of his brand new family.

Edward seemed more free and happy in the wilds where he could show off his speed recklessly.

Rosalie somehow glowed against the snow and became more inclined to play along with his and Edwards games with the amount of ease that overtook her.

The change with Carlisle was the most marked as Emmett watch for the first time ever, he waltzed with Bella under the Aurora Borealis. A blanket of the universe lit up their dance in the snow covered tundra and the earth moved with them.

It was the song of the universe that their feet moved to, a dance the earth had seen a hundred thousand times before Emmett had been born and would still be dance long after the humans of his generation perished.

"I want to be like them," He whispered softly into Rosalie's hair one night under the ribbon of color which lit up the sky.

They'd all just had a snow fight with their cousins and Bella had nullified all gifts on the field making it a mad free for all until no winner, but a family collapsed in laughter. The pure unadulterated joy and freedom they all enjoyed just pummeling and chasing each other had been something else entirely.

After it ended, Eleazar and Carmen made their way on to the roof of their home in order to do some star gazing while Edward, and Irina were teamed up against Kate and Tanya in a contest to see who could build the most snowmen in an hour.

Each small army was growing rapidly. It was quite a sight to behold as the snowmen marched in quiet towards the empty expanse of snow and ice on which which Carlisle had chosen to dance with his Mate upon.

"I want to be hundreds of years old an still able to dance when there's no music," Emmett held Rosalie tighter and she returned the embrace wholeheartedly.

"We will," She assured him with so much love it filled him up to the brim, "I'll dance with you until the stars go out."

Emmett smiled at her and took that as an invitation to grab her hands before pulling her to her feet. Rosalie laughed at the gesture but giddily followed his lead as he took her to the same dance floor Bella and Carlisle stood on.

Carlisle tossed him a smile and Bella offered Rosalie a wink as they continued their own waltz.

And they danced.

They danced with the only music being the twinkle of stars and the laughter of Edward being dog-piled by the Denalis after him and Irina won the snowman race.

Emmett hoped that they would dance forever, so they did.


	5. Alice

There was an order which events had to occur for Alice and Jasper to be able to start their perfect happily ever after.

And the first domino in their intricately constructed Rube Goldberg Machine began in the very greasy spoon diner which Alice found herself sitting patiently.

Well, no.

Technically it had begun the moment which she had been bitten and turned into a Vampire, but Alice wasn't sure how that had even occurred nor the intentions of her Sire. Having awoken in a dense dark wood with nothing in her head but visions of a future which she could only crave, Alice had begun her intricate life of choices.

On bad days where Jasper's decisions took him weeks from their meeting, Alice wondered about her past, how she'd even begin to find it and if she'd even like what she uncovered. And on the days where she had time to think about the hope she held for the future, Alice basked in her visions.

There was a ready made family just waiting for her and Jasper.

A mother and a father with siblings so full of love and compassion she could hardly keep herself from rushing forwards towards them at full tilt. Recklessly willing to embrace a life of peace and happiness casting off the shroud of aching loneliness which covered her in her travels.

But if she joined them now, Alice knew she wouldn't meet Jasper for many years to come.

No.

It was best for her to wait for him. They would learn to love each other and then as a a true team they would seek out their Coven in waiting.

Alice learned patience in those days as she waited for Jasper.

Difficult was an understatement when describing her time as a Newborn. For all Alice knew she was somebody's left overs and had never been intended for the life of an immortal.

Her struggle to control her thirst for human blood was often much too powerful to resist and Alice gave in.

A lot.

She did not have Carlisle's kind compassion, Rosalie's strength from pride, Bella's tempered grace, or Edwards understanding. It was strange that in her earliest months, Alice drew more strength from her visions of Emmett.

The fun loving man who stumbled over and over but had the power to get back up.

So Alice did it too. With every failure she remembered Emmett and followed his lead by dusting herself off and getting right back on her feet. No looking back, only towards her goal of control. It wasn't impossible and Alice knew that she could make it one day.

It took time, but finally Alice found the diner where all her favorite choices led her and they were all worth it. The learned patience as well as the fight for control over her instincts, it all was worth the payment of the reward when Jasper Whitlock ran into the diner in order to escape the torrential downpour occurring outside.

The humans in the streets quickly vacated the sidewalks rushing into the nearest buildings they could, Jasper did the same ostensibly not to appear so strange walking unbothered in the rain.

Excitement coursed through her as he entered the establishment, he was obviously nervous about the action. Most Vampires who drank human blood tended to spend as little time around their prey as possible lest they get thirsty at an inopportune moment and cause a spectacle.

Alice watch from the corner of her eye as he took a seat in one of the booths. His sandy blond hair was wet from the sheets of water which had begun falling from the sky and he was beautiful.

Seeing him in her visions had scarcely prepared her for the reality of the moment in which he was finally within her reach.

Wearing a brown leather jacket, denim jeans, a white cotton shirt, Jasper completed his look with a pair od snake skin cowboy boots and Alice couldn't help but think he was perfect in every way.

Grounding herself with a breath, she stood from her place in a corner table and walked with all the confidence of a Vampire who knew exactly how this day would end.

Daintily Alice slid into the seat across from him and Jasper was immediately on alert. She could see him process her presence along with the fact that she too had a heart which had stopped a long time ago.

Their eyes met and to her dying day Alice would swear that her heart beat again for just a moment as the bond formed. The pull wasn't powerful or all consuming, but a gentle nudge of her soul sighing as it recognize a place she could possibly lay her weary head.

"You kept me waiting an awful long time mister," Alice smiled, she knew that so long as she was open and relaxed her would see that she posed no threat to him,

"A girl could get hurt being stood up for so long."

"I wasn't intending to keep you waiting ma'am," Jasper replied still unsure, judging by the way he glanced around the virtually empty diner,

"Though I'm quite sure I don't know you, yet you seem to know me."

"You'd be right," Alice continued to give him a relaxed expression, "From my point of you we've met a thousand times, but since you decided to walk in here today, this is the only one you get to see."

"So you've got some sort of a talent" Jasper asked her quietly, "You can see meetings?"

"Choices," she clarified smoothly, "The outcome of choices is what I see. Sometimes they change sometimes they don't."

"That's quite a gift," he informed her with genuine admiration shining through. Alice stayed silent though as she knew that the waitress was about to stop at their table.

"Looks like the rain got you," the young woman gave a welcoming smile to Jasper as Alice had been waiting for him all afternoon and didn't actually need to be given a greeting,

"My name's Ruby and I'd be happy to get you anything you'd like."

Jasper looked up at the waitress and didn't seem to know what to say so Alice responded for the both of them,

"Just a coffee would be good, we've already eaten."

Ruby nodded and wrote down the request before leaving them back to their conversation.

"Why even bother ordering something?" Jasper asked tilting his head in curiosity, "If you were thirsty there's plenty to go around already."

His eyes roved the room for what had to be the 4th time since she joined him, this time though it was an indication towards the one or two humans who were actually enjoying their afternoon tucked away from the rain outside.

"I'm a Vegetarian," Alice informed him and knew that this was the first time he'd ever heard tale of such a thing. It was rare, she knew, but so many who did know about the lifestyle rejected it.

She leaned forwards and whispered, sharing her secret with him, "When I do get the hankering for something to drink, I go out to the forest and find it.

"Right now my favorite is badger, but I don't mind trying other variety."

Slowly comprehension dawned on Jasper's face. It was like he was waking up as his scarlet eyes widened.

Alice blinked slowly while the waitress arrived with her coffee," Thank you Ruby."

"Your welcome, just holler if you need anything," Ruby replied and left them again.

"I'd really like to show you how to do it," Alice's smile grew wider and she knew her teeth were showing yet she couldn't bring herself to mind,

"Only if you want though."

"What do you think I'll say?" Jasper folded his arms on the table but leaned forwards on them, "

"Well you haven't decided yet so I haven't' a clue," She replied with a bit of humor, "It's still all up to you."

Jasper chose her.

He chose her again and again as they made their way cross the northern United States. Somewhere along the way they fell into each other happily as Alice showed him a better way of living, a more peaceful way to experience his immortal life.

Hand in hand they saw historical monuments, lakes, rivers, and several boutiques where Alice took pleasure in switching up both of their attire depending on their destination.

They even dared to hitchhike their way around the great lakes. It was thrilling and full of fun in a way Alice had never experienced on her own. Jasper held her hand through it all, and made her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. Even more importantly though, Alice was able to make him feel like he was the most brilliant man.

Jasper's control was still a work in progress, but Alice knew he'd gone 83 years drinking only human blood and so it was no doubt that his struggle would be far more brutal than her's. Especially considering that he had a very special gift which allowed him to feel the emotions of those around meaning that when she was thirsty, he became so by proxy.

It was a difficult situation, but when he grew as strong as he could on his own, Alice could see their future becoming more solid than it had ever been before.

Bella riding piggy back on Jasper as they made their way through what looked like a parking lot. The older woman was talking about something Alice couldn't quite decipher but it had Jasper laughing like it was the funniest story he'd ever heard in his entire existence while Rosalie, who was walking next to them, rolled her eyes but smiled with deep amusement.

Alice could see herself there too, leaning gently against a motorbike in one of the parking spaces.

Then the vision changed and it was closer.

"Oh Alice," Bella smiled tenderly at her, the amount of affection which came through the vision was overwhelming, "You know Carlisle and I love you and Jasper as if we'd changed you ourselves.

"We always will."

Strong arms wrapped around her and Alice realized it was Carlisle who was going to hug her like a father as he kissed her on the top of her head.

Bella was hugging Jasper in the same way and behind his back, she looked at Carlisle. Staring right back from over Alice's head the man moved his lips without speaking, 'thank you.' His mate just beamed back basking in the moment.

Closer then her sight came as she found herself holding tight to Jasper's hand while Bella was tucked safely behind Carlisle as the Patriarch of the family gave a welcoming smile, "Our door is always opened to those who share our philosophy. It's wonderful to meet you Alice, Jasper.

"You'll find the home we keep here in Ithaca is big enough for you to stay as long as you wish."

Alice longed for it.

The vision was solid and real, as she came back from it Alice gasped in pure unadulterated desire for such a moment to pass. Apparently her emotions were overflowing because her Mate was immediately sending waves of calm as he tenderly cupped her face,

"What did you see Alice? You're emotions are all over the place."

They would be, Alice knew. Desperation for what she'd been waiting for ever since she and Jasper had met. Happiness that it was finally time all bundled up in fear of her vision changing at the last moment.

"I saw us finally coming home," She beamed at Jasper as her eyes filled with Venom, knowing it would never spill but not caring as the elation of what she had seen truly overtook her,

"It's finally time for us to go and join our family Jasper."

"Are you sure they'll accept us?" He frowned, ever the cynic, "I'm no where near where I should be when it comes to feeding on animals.

"What if I mess up again? Will they really be alright with that?"

"It's going to be alright," Alice assured him as she laid a kiss on his lips, pulling away she gazed up at him, her excitement unaltered,

"It won't matter that you're not perfect, not to them. The family that's waiting for us, won't hold our mistakes against us. They're going to help us become even stronger.

* * *

  
There were 6 cities in the United States that bore the name Ithaca.

Fortunately, as Alice focused on the Cullens along with the vision of Carlisle welcoming her and Jasper into his home, it became clear exactly where they were keeping their home.

While the headed to their destination, Alice did her best to pinpoint the neighborhood, the street, up until the very house which the family was staying in. Flashes of details and small scenes allowed her to confidently lead their journey.

Alice and Jasper had been to New York state a few times in their travels. So the terrain was familiar as they made their way to the city of Ithaca. Her Mate did his best to calm the nervous energy she was oozing as the vision of their welcome was maintaining it's structure but there was very little else that she could make out around the event.

It seemed strange but Alice had justified the lack of clarity of her sight by reasoning with herself that they hadn't actually met. Anything could change once they were really in the midst of a new Coven and that meant decisions were completely up in the air.

Jasper held her hand and they drove down the sleepy forest road towards the house Alice had caught flickers of with her gift.

Once the engine of the car had been shut off, Alice couldn't help but frown.

She had expected the house to sound full of life and energy, but instead, the beautiful home which had a colonial facade, possessing 4 large symmetrical windows divided into 3 panes each. Between the bottom two was a beautiful elevated porch with white columns and a small railing.

The entire home consisted of a natural stone face, highlighted by white awning, window frames, and a oak wood door.

What troubled her was the only sound within the home was a violin playing Claire De Lune, a beautiful melody which only slightly covered the rapid flutter of a beating heart.

For a moment she thought this was the wrong place and decided to tell Jasper that they needed to keep looking. As she made the choice though, every future with the Cullens vanished, only to be replaced with a fruitless search that went on for decades.

Holding hands, she and Jasper still had each other, but things got hard. So hard.

Alice took a breath, thankful for Jasper's waves of calm affection that washed over her in response to her distress,

"Did something change?"

"I almost made a bad decision," Alice shook herself out of the vision, "This is where we're supposed to be."

Jasper nodded coming to terms with the fact that they head to head forwards, "The human in there sound like they have a heart condition. It's too fast to be good for them."

"Maybe they're all just being really quiet while they play," Alice offered and Jasper looked as convinced as she felt about the theory.

Bracing themselves, the pair made their way up the path to the house and onto the porch. It was Jasper who took the initiative as he rang the doorbell.

The moment the chime began to echo, the violinist ceased their playing and laid the instrument down softly. They made their way through the house sedately, every step they took bringing that odd heartbeat closer.

"Hold your breath," Alice reminded her Mate causing him to inhale deeply so that he could speak without breathing once the human was near.

As the dark oak door opened Alice was surprised to find the human who answered far more beautiful than any she'd ever encountered. The man possessed strawberry blonde hair and flawless skin which was pale, but not as washed out as a Vampire's.

His eyes were a chocolate brown, while he was roughly a head taller than Jasper. The scent that rolled off of him was like nothing she'd ever experienced. Citrus accompanied by foliage and petrichor wafted off of him, and the burn in Alice's throat never came.

"Oh," the man offered them a warm smile, "No one told me we were expecting guests! I'm Elisha, may I ask your names?"

"Jasper Whitlock sir," Jasper nodded his head in greeting but Alice was surprised as her Mate appeared almost shocked as he examined the man before them,

"This is my Mate Alice, we're looking for the Cullens."

Jasper offered him a hand to shake. Elisha looked at it and his smiled drooped just slightly, "

"You're at the right house, but I have a rather intrusive Gift that tends to activate on it's own with strangers."

Dropping his hand Jasper only nodded and Alice wondered at the fact that the human had a Gift. She couldn't see his future, what would happen if they entered the house was a void, but if they didn't' she knew that their chance at a family was going to pass by.

"Why don't you come on in," Elisha moved away from the door welcoming the pair into the house,

"The rest of the family is on a hunt and I'm simply passing the time until they return."

Jasper took the lead as he walked over the threshold of the grand home, Alice followed willingly with her hand firmly in her Mate's trusting that his decisions would be best for both of them when her Gift wasn't working.

Elisha closed the door and Jasper stood straight, his face was stone and Alice found herself even more confused as her partner declared,

"You're a Half Born, they don't make many of your kind and forgive me if I'm being rude but I'd like to know when your conception was authorized.

"And which member of the Coven you belong to."

"Jasper?" Alice couldn't even begin to understand what he was asking as her Mate stepped in front of her slightly. Then, to her even greater surprise, the man with the strange heart beat and aroma, laughed.

"I was born to Carlisle Cullen and his wife Isabella in 1814," Elisha informed them lightly,

  
"Most people know my story though, I'm sure you've heard tell of the child which was brought before the three brothers and suffered to live."

"Your birth mother is a Vampire then?" Jasper seemed to relax in his place in front of Alice.

"She is," Elisha nodded serenely, "Your Mate seems like she doesn't understand what we're talking about though."

"I don't," Alice pouted, her confusion beginning to spill over as they continued on without explaining,

"So can somebody please explain what a 'Half Born' is and why I've never seen you before?"

Elisha's brow furrowed in thought, "You've never seen me because we haven't met, unless you're referring to some sort of Gift you have, then I wouldn't be able to say."

"Half Borns are children that are a result of a union of a Vampire male and a Human woman," Jasper explained to her concisely,

"You have to petition the Volturi to have them. Some are born because a Vampire Mates to a human and they decide it's what they want.

"Other's are created when a Mated Pair of Vampires hire a surrogate and pay for their service by changing them."

Alice turned to look at Elisha with new eyes. He didn't appear disturbed in the least by the description Jasper gave of the process but she couldn't help but think it sounded horrifyingly messy and dangerous.

"That doesn't explain why Alice can't see you," Jasper mused and looked at her in curiosity while sending her affection and assurance.

"I've been human, and I am a Vampire," Alice whispered softly as she tried to process what she'd been told, "Maybe I can't see him because I've never encountered a member of his species."

"That's makes a bit of sense," Jasper nodded considering it, "Now that I know you're not a danger to us, perhaps we can wait here until the rest of your Coven returns."

"Of course," Elisha gave an amenable grin, "While we're waiting, if you don't mind me asking, Is there any particular reason for your visit?"

This was ground Alice was comfortable on as her good humors returned she practically bounced in excitement,

"We're here to join your family! I've been trying to be a Vegetarian since I was turned and I've gotten the hang of it in the past couple of decades!

"Jasper here's just started a couple years ago but hes doing amazing already!"

"Join?" Elisha's expression was a mix of stunned disbelief and bright humor. Alice couldn't blame him.

Two nomads had showed up asking to meet his family, one had demanded to know about the circumstances of his birth and then once that was out of the way, they announced some rather bold intentions.

"We're in earnest," Jasper agreed with her easily, "Both of us have very useful gifts and are willing to use them to protect the Coven in exchange for a place in it."

"Well," Elisha gathered himself from his surprise and was once again smiling at them, there was still a bit of astonishment sparkling in his eyes but it was tempered,

"I'm not in a position to be making calls, but I can guarantee you that my mother and father will be wiling to discuss it. A family meeting will be in order no doubt."

There was indeed a family meeting when the rest of the Cullens arrived home.

Alice, while excited to start the new branch of her life with the family was made anxious by Elisha. At first it was due to the fact that she could not see his future.

It was a frustrating experience as she had no way to fix the issue other than to attempt to attune herself to him. That meant spending time together completely blind to the outcome and while some Vampires may have found that freeing, Alice felt like she was going in missing one of her essential senses.

As they grew to be better friends, Alice did become better at seeing the small things, what he'd have for lunch, a choice to play the violin and serenade Esme.

But beyond that it was fuzzy and difficult, only time and patience could bridge the gap in her sight but Alice felt herself almost frozen in place.

Because Elisha had a gift that changed everything.

Unlike Edward who could read her mind and see all her visions, know her burden, and understand, Elisha's gift would show her the history she possessed.

Alice's memories started on the day her heart stopped, but just a touch from the Half Born could blow away the fog and lift the veil of mystery surrounding not only her creation. No. Elisha could show her how she'd lived as a human, if she had family, friends, someone who could be missing her.

It was a terrifying thought that there was a whole world waiting to be unveiled through him, one that she'd thought lost forever, and now if she only asked he could show it to her.

"You should just do it," Edward announced on morning as Alice sat on the porch swing watching the light of the sun begin rising between the trees.

"It's not that simple Edward," Alice frowned at his intrusion, she knew he meant well, she even had a soft spot for him as he too had a burdensome gift. At the moment though, she wished he couldn't see through her,

"There's so many variables to consider."

"You mean you're worried that you won't like what you find," Edward replied easily, settling himself down next to her on the swing.

Upstairs a piano was playing, and since it wasn't Edward, it must have been Elisha as the two seemed to be the only ones who ever played the instruments in the music room. The sound of dancing accompanied the notes, Rosalie's laughter with Emmett's deeper tones of speech overlaying the mix of sounds meant that the pair was responsible for the steps.

Carlisle's voice was like a melody as he read aloud in the living room and Alice could practically see Bella curled up with him on the sofa as they took turns giving voice to the words typed onto the page.

Jasper was basking in the silence Bella's shield afforded him as he was folded up on one of the sofa chairs, eyes closed and feeling only his own emotions.

If asked, the matriarch was always glad to spread her shield and give Edward a small reprieve and when Bella extended the same offer to Jasper he'd latched onto it like a child would clutch onto their mother's apron strings. Alice's own Gift could not be silenced as it was not mental but rooted in facts so she was the only Gifted member who could not enjoy the quiet on the occasions that her visions became to much.

Esme was in the kitchen cooking something that smelled strange, but then again, everything Elisha ate smelled odd to a Vampire's nose. The fact that he could eat human food was a source of endless, though affectionate, jealousy throughout the house.

"We've all left people behind," Edward continued realizing that Alice wasn't inclined to continue with the difficult conversation,

"Rosalie had her parents, Bella had her father, Esme had her sister," the telepath was trying to speak quietly but there was no doubt the Vampires in the living room could hear,

"Emmett too, he had brothers, a sister, loving parents. And we were able to help take care of them.

"Carlisle left the fortune he had accumulated in England to Bella's Father when they left for Italy and if there are people that were left behind in your life, ones that you love, I'm confident they'll help you take care of them too."

"What if they're all dead?" Alice turned to him and felt her chest constrict with the anxiety she'd felt every time she considered it, "Maybe I'm somebody's left overs because they killed everyone else."

"Then you get to bring them back to life," Edward's words were imbued with such passion she wondered at who he lost,

"Most people get forgotten eventually but you'll get to keep them alive in your memories. A perfect Vampire one, it'll never fade again.

"Maybe some of them will disappoint you but there's a chance that there's someone in your past that would be worth remembering all the bad for."

He was right, she realized.

Alice had spent so much time moving forward and refusing to look back, the moment there was a chance to piece everything together, she froze.

That wasn't how she wanted to live, avoiding Elisha's Gift whenever he was around seemed a cruel torture. Readers like Edward and Elisha suffered enough from those who viewed their gifts as too invasive to tolerate. He didn't need Alice making him feel like he'd done something wrong because of her own fears.

"Alright," Alice closed her eyes and let the decision settle There was no vision, there couldn't be since it so deeply involved the Half Born, but it felt solid and real,

"I'll talk to Jasper in the morning and we'll go to Elisha together."

"Just remember, you've spent 35 years being who you are right now," Edward slung a comforting arm over her shoulder in a gentle hug,

"Another 17 or 19 added on probably isn't going to change much. You'll still love Jasper and you'll still be a welcome here. Carlisle and Bella aren't exactly keen on letting us go once they've adopted us."

Alice laughed at that and allowed it to settle her nerves.

She didn't have to chase her history immediately.

Knowing who she had been as a human would be a start, and once that was established, she had all the time in the world to figure out what to do about it.

And no matter what path she tool Jasper would be holding her hand and the Cullens door would be open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part of this will be concluded in the next chapter [Jasper's] so don't think I'm just leaving this so open ended.


	6. Jasper Whitlock

It was difficult for Jasper to watch Elisha put his hands on Alice and show her the life she'd forgotten.

While Alice had slotted perfectly into the Cullen family, in the year an a half they'd spent with the abnormally large Coven, Jasper's trust in them was barley beginning to sprout like the tiny roots of a germinating cotton seed.

The Cullens were kind and strange as he'd never encountered a Coven that was so firmly established on love as they were. Jasper had a hard time trusting anybody.

Being born into your second life only to be surrounded by war, blood, and suffering did that to an Empath. There were few people he'd ever trusted, even when he was a human. Boys his age didn't just run off to the army unless they were fighting for something they believed or had something to run from.

And for Jasper, running seemed like a good idea. A man at the age of 16 had no business butting a burden on his mother's table when he could go out and make his own money. The values of the confederacy had just seemed normal at the time.

Life, experience, and suffering taught him to be better than those values but the discipline of the army remained.

Just as the fear and mistrust of his years as an instrument of his Sire's army had taken it's toll. To Maria he was a useful tool and his Gift meant that he always would be.

But feeling the cold lonely fear of death so often did things to a man. Jasper had never been able to escape it, not even when he fled from the life fighting the Southern Vampire Wars in order to join Peter and Charlotte up north in their nomadic lifestyle.

Death still followed him, made worse by the impossible highs of Charlotte and Peter's love and affection. He couldn't feed without remembering every time he'd killed a newborn simply because they's lost their use to Maria. Every second of hopeless fear those humans felt were experienced by him as he tried to slake the burning thirst he felt in his throat.

Alice had changed things.

When he'd been starving himself for months on end simply trying to live as long as he could without having to feel the horrific fading of another's life, she'd skipped into his path and sparkled like a gemstone full of zest for life.

Behind the shine and glimmer, Alice held a frighteningly monstrous cunning. A Gift geared towards optimal odds and a disposition happy to follow the lead of success in the body of a woman who sought out a fairy tale ending.

She was love embodied and Jasper didn't have any other choice but to love her.

Salvation's name was Alice as she taught him a way to drink his fill of blood while never experiencing the cold grip of death again. It was a better way, a happier life.

Simply by living the same way, the Cullens were listed as potential allies in his book, but that didn't breed trust. Only time and bonding could, so while Alice became best of friends with Edward, Jasper stayed back an simply observed their new Coven's dynamics.

It was clear Carlisle was in charge, he was Elisha's natural father as well as having Sired both Edward and Esme. They owed him loyalty through those bonds alone. Rosalie and Emmett were tied to him through his Mate Bella.

Bella had apparently Sired that particular pair, and shared a close bond with Rosalie by virtue of the blonde being the matriarch's First Born Daughter. As there was no replacing Elisha in her heart as her First Son.

That didn't mean that Bella and Carlisle played blatant favorites. They loved every member of their family differently, but to a degree that would have been palpable even without Jasper's gift.

He knew because Bella's Gift could mute his.

That, in his mind, made her the key to a power play.

As Carlisle's Mate, she would die before she allowed him to be overthrown as the leader of their Coven and you can't exactly kill her if you couldn't touch her through her Shield. Not that Jasper wanted the power, he was happy to let Carlisle lead, but it was a level of security that helped him feel more at ease.

There was a very low chance that Carlisle would fall to an attempt to overthrow him and while the man was calmer than the deepest of still waters, he possessed an edge to him that Jasper knew intimately.

Carlisle may have been gentle, but Jasper was wise enough to know that the wrath of a peaceful man was far more dangerous than the devil himself.

As he relaxed and began to dip his toes into the water of change, Jasper was surprised to find himself more open to closeness with Elisha and Emmett. Perhaps it was the large man's genuinely easy going attitude and nature, and the Half Vampire's pure exuberance.

Elisha have never killed a human and had stopped drinking blood all together by the time he was 4 years old. Physically he had been around 15 when the choice was made, but the years before Elisha had apparently spent slowly eating more and more 'Human' foods.

Emmett had killed a lot of people. Yet he didn't allow that fact to shape him and his decisions to be strive for betterment.

Jasper found himself most surprised by the closeness which bloomed between himself and Bella.

Isabella Marie Cullen was a woman born in the late 18th century and changed in the early 19th. While her body was 18, there were moments that she bore every year that she'd walked the earth like a glowing diadem of stars.

"She's always been that way, " Carlisle had smiled with sparkling eyes when Jasper had voiced his opinion. The older Vampire looked at his Mate and softly spoke,

"Her mother used to say she was an old spinster in a child's body. Isabella has always had wisdom paired with such a capacity for acceptance and tolerance that I do believe she was born far before her proper time."

"It's hard to imagine her as a Human," Jasper admitted as Bella had been the the only one not to wince the first time he'd revealed all the scars littered across his body from the Newborns he'd slaughtered. Even Carlisle, whose demeanor was always accepting, had grown subtly withdrawn.

But Bella had simply blinked and said with genuine sympathy, "I'm so sorry you had to live through that, thank you for trusting us with this. It must have been difficult to muster up the courage to do so."

And from then on he'd been happy to spend quite moments just sitting under her Shield, knowing she'd keep him safe like the wings of a hen which gathered her chicks. She contained multitudes and yet was able to tackle Emmett and wrestle him after a particularly exhilarating hunt.

Jasper had even starred slack jawed when Bella had initiated a play fight with her Mate under the star lit night. There had been no moon in the sky as their Coven raced across the forest.

Bella had gingerly been tackled by Edward and the two of them played innocently until Emmett joined to help the Telepath out. It had been a surprise when she shouted through her laughter,

"Carlisle! The children are rebelling!"

The Cullen Patriarch had sighed, given Jasper a look as if to say, 'duty calls' before leaping from his perch on a high branch down into the meadow below. He'd landed on Emmett with a loud crash. It was a strange moment, but Esme and Rosalie simply looked at the display with amusement.

Alice simply threaded her finger's through Jasper before whispering at a level only he could hear, "I want to play too."

"Not yet," He'd replied gently to her, and with sincerity added, "But soon."

Which was why the day Alice approached him and declared, "I've decided to ask Elisha to use his Gift on me. "

Jasper was surprised. He knew her past had been a bit of a sore point for her, but to hear that she'd been considering this so seriously was a bit of a shock. Of course it was a possibility, he knew that from the moment that Elisha's Gift had been explained, but Alice usually discussed these kind of decisions with him, even if it was just as a sounding board.

Before he could reply, Alice continued in rush, "I know we've only been here for 3 years but I can't stop thinking that by waiting I'm risking whatever family I might have left dying because of old age or some sort of accident.

"Our life here, I love it and I'm not going to give it up, but I at least want answers and maybe I can walk the streets I used to as a human. See where I grew up and make peace with everything I left behind."

Anxiety and hope emanating in a steady stream off of her and Jasper sent her a bit of his own calm and contentment, "Alice, you should know by know I'd be happy to follow you anywhere.

"If this is what you really want, then I'll pack a bag and the two of us can head out wherever Elisha's Gift takes us."

The most difficult part of the entire plan was having to watch the play of emotion across his Mate's face while her hands were cradled gently in Elisha's. Jasper could't allow his Gift to comfort her or it could confuse the feelings she genuinely experienced when it came to uncovering who she had been.

So, he was forced to watch Elisha and Alice hold hands as they were taken on a trip more than 38 years in the past. There was not telling what they were witnessing together, as Edward was under Bella's shield upstairs as he played the piano in order to give Alice the privacy she needed.

Jasper went on their journey with them in a different way though, as he experienced the highs and lows of his Mate and adoptive brother experiencing her human life in reverse.

"When I was small, I could only see up to a few moments into a persons history. I still only get brief glimpses but that's when I'm not actually trying to see anything, " Elisha informed them as he began to explain to the pair what the request Alice had made would entail,

"Now though, if I put the effort in, I can see all the way across my subjects timeline. Alice isn't so old, so she might not mind me rummaging."

He tossed her a kind smile, his brown eyes filled with affection which came off him in soft currents, "But if you only want me to see what you're missing, I'll need you to keep focus on the moment you awoke as A Vampire.

"If you concentrate hard enough, it'll be like starting a film in the middle of the reel and we'll be able to work backwards from there."

In the end, when they parted, Alice's final emotional state was such a grief that Jasper lunged towards her. Affection and assurance at the ready while his arms wrapped securely around her. Elisha, being the smart man that he was, took a step back and bowed his head in order to submit control of the situation over.

"You've lived quite a life Alice," the Half Born spoke softly, his emotions were riled and there was a surprising level of protectiveness emanating from him, though Elisha didn't show it much through his demeanor or tone,

"I'll leave you to process it."

With that he departed from the room slowly. Jasper's ears tracked his movements upstairs, past the music room and into the upstairs Game Gallery where Esme was playing a game of chess with Carlisle.

Knowing that Elisha was far away was enough for Jasper's instincts to begin calming while he comforted his Mate. Alice clung to him desperately as she took breaths she didn't need in order to calm the emotional storm wracking through her, Jasper used his Gift to ease the process.

He was willing to anchor her until she was ready to be alright again. Even if it meant she didn't reveal the reasons for her upset, Jasper was content to hold Alice until she didn't need his arms anchoring her down anymore.

After a half hour of Alice's breathing slowing until it was finally stopped, she pulled away slowly in order to look him in the eye, "I'm so happy that I found you Jazz, I lost so much and somehow I got to keep you."

Jasper leaned forward and nuzzled their noses together, simply being there for her as he replied, "You don't regret it do you? Finding out?"

"No," Alice replied with a tight smile, determination coated her words and filled him as she shook her head, "There was good too. There were people worth remembering for.

"Vampires worth remembering for."

"I'm glad," Jasper gave her a smile then, happy that she would eventually be content with all she'd discovered. He kissed her softly then, pouring assurance and strength into her and Alice embraced him right back.

Later, as she was ready, Alice would share her tale.

How her father was a jeweler who plotted to killed her mother. That Alice had been able to see little futures when she was just a girl and had been called a witch and a changing, but her mother had believed in them. She believed her daughter and had worked to avoid her fate but in a moment of complacency she lost her life.

All that was left for Alice was to grieve with her baby sister.

Alice told him how she'd known, so when her father remarried he plotted to kill her too.

That in the end she was shoved in a mental institute, telling everyone in their town that she'd gone crazy. Then Alice forgot everything because her treatments, electricity running through a human mind at such intensity could do that.

But there was a Vampire, a scavenger who worked at the institute.

Amara was her name.

Ebony skin and red eyes, but a heart as kind as any. She would bring Alice gifts in secret and the little girl would only granted be them if she could guess what they were. Alice was always right because she never had to guess, her sight always told her what was coming the moment Amara chose to bring it.

Jasper listened intently as his Mate grieved all over while regaling the tale of a Hunter named James who, with his red headed Mate, began hunting Alice for the thrill of being seen coming.

Amara made a choice that would have seemed impossible that night.

Her own life or Alice's, and Amara chose to save the lost little girl who had visions of the future. The Ancient Woman's last act of defiance to bite her favorite patient. Choosing to fight for three days and three nights against the viscous pair who hunted Alice in order to give the young girl time to complete the change and become safe from the Vampire's thirst.

Alice had been so dearly loved, by her mother, her sister, even in her final moments as a human as Amara fought to ensure her second life.

Jasper couldn't help but think that she was amazing for having lived such a life of struggle and come out victorious. To have sought out peace and love over everything was remarkable.

He had thought he could not love her more, but Alice just buried herself deeper into his soul as she unburdened herself to him.

Together they'd go back and check on her sister and find her well with children of her own almost grown. Her wicked father would be long buried with his final act of malice revealing itself in the form of a headstone carve with the name Marie Alice Brandon and the date of death being the same which she was admitted to the mental hospital.

They continued holding hands.

Never letting go, all the while pursuing a peaceful life with their family, because the Cullens did become their family.

Alice had been right again.

There had been a ready made family just waiting for them. One with a mother, a father, and siblings. Sure she hadn't seen Elisha and Esme at first, but the Half Born liked to say they were just a couple of bonuses.

Jasper heartily agreed.

* * *

"It's choosing day!" Alice cheered from her place walking across the porch banister.

Jasper shoved Edward roughly as his brother made to do the same, an action which caused the Telepath to slam into Emmett. The larger Vampire simply laughed before ping ponging Edward back to Jasper.

The trio had just come in from hunting for the week and Jasper could feel both his brother's surprise at the announcement.

"Is it already time to go?!" Emmett whined a bit but didn't appear too torn apart about the prospect.

Jasper and his Mate had been members of the Cullen family for 53 years and they'd practically been magical. Sure there had been mistakes and hurried moves, but there was nothing that could compare to the life their rather large Coven had chosen.

For the last 5 years they's decided to take a breather and spend time in Alaska. The home Carlisle and Bella had chosen was not far form the Denali's and it had been some of the best years they'd had so far.

Esme and Elisha had returned from one of their Missionary Tours just a year ago and the family had been thriving under a single roof for the first time in a full decade.

"It better be somewhere good," Edward replied with a bit of sincere complaint along with a healthy dose of facetiousness,

"Because If I have to spend the next 4 years dealing withe Emmett and Rosalie I might actually decide to revolt."

Alice rolled her eyes at their antics and as Jasper came near the deck she leaped off only for him to catch her in his arms without effort. Kissing his mate on the tip of her nose he smiled,

"I only ask that you and I have a room to ourselves."

Alice nuzzled their noses together and laughed, "As if Bella and Carlisle would separate us!"

He carried her over the threshold and placed her down gingerly just as Elisha entered the living room eating some sort of tortilla wrap that smelled of cured meat. The Half Born looked at the pair gave a snarky nod, "Mazel tov, I didn't know it was time for another wedding."

Ignoring him Jasper asked, "Alice says it's choosing day?"

"And it better not be somewhere lame!" Emmett practically shouted as he tossed himself with preciseness onto the sofa. Just roughly enough not to break it but make his opinion clear.

Rosalie entered the living room with Esme and the blonde very casually plopped down into her Mate's lap, "You know it's not going to be as fun as Alaska Babe, you're going to have to get used to being more discreet again."

"Uggggh!" Emmett tossed his head back in exaggerated complaint while Rosalie just laughed at his antics.

Esme settled herself happily in the love seat next to Elisha and was happy to link her hand with his free one,

"You all know me and Elisha are always happy to live separately to make things more believable. We'll be happy to have Edward again too if he wants, I quite enjoyed him being my brother in Ontario."

Edward shot her a smile and Jasper could tell he was grateful.

Their long stay up North wasn't just for fun. Carlisle had needed to go back to school in order to keep himself on the cutting edge of medicine and had been accepted into the WWAMI program. So while they'd all practically been on vacation, their Coven leader had been working to keep their facade polished.

Every member of their family had various degrees, even Emmett had managed to get a few with his habit of changing majors every chance he could.

Edward tended to take musical theory, history, medicine, or linguistics while Rosalie more enjoyed the Majors that got her waist deep in oil and machinery.

Fashion and design were Alice's passion while she also maintained a steady appreciation for anthropology along with philosophy. Elisha and Esme only ever went to school if they wanted to add to their repertoire, the both of them preferred to get jobs teaching various subjects.

Though Esme preferred elementary and pre-k, while her Mate was more at home while instructing a high school chemistry lab, or teaching English.

As for Jasper, he tended towards history and psychology. He understood people and he had a thing for the past he hadn't lived. Bella had actually joined him a time or two for history, but her real passion was always Literature, though she did get a couple of degrees in dance. That one had Carlisle amused each time it was mentioned and Jasper wasn't going to ask ever because Edward always looked nauseous when it came up.

The most impressive out of all of them was Carlisle though. He maintained a Doctorate in several advanced studies of medicine and, unlike Edward, regularly put it to use.

Endless were the possibilities for their next location and Jasper was eager as he sat himself down on one of the sofa chairs while Alice perched herself on the armrest.

Edward happily sat on the floor like the gremlin he was and shot Elisha a frown, "Are you actually going eat that thing the entire time?"

"I'm hungry," Elisha shrugged and took a bite of his wrap. Edward was a bit annoyed and Elisha was clearly smug over the fact. Jasper shook his head at the pair of them while the Telepath replied,

"It smells disgusting."

Which it kind of did, most human food smelled alright and Jasper had gotten used to it as Elisha had to eat something, but cured meats tended to smell the worst.Probably from all the alteration the meat was forced to go through.

"That sounds like a you problem Eddy," Elisha mocked taking another giant bite of his food, radiating amusement.

"My sons better not be arguing," Bella's voice wafted into the room from upstairs. She made her way down elegantly as always, her tiny hand was tucked into Carlisle's elbow which was also a common sight.

"We are," Edward and Elisha replied simultaneously while Emmett shouted with the glee of a 6 year old, "I'm not."

Rosalie rolled her eyes while Esme and Bella both laughed softly. The rest of the family had delight rolling of them, but only smiled.

"As Alice has so kindly informed you, it's choosing day," Carlisle announced steadily in the tone that Jasper had labeled his 'Dad Voice' mostly because he only used the level of authority present when making decisions for the Coven or scolding them for acting out too much in public.

"We've been really considering returning to Forks, there's a home big enough for all of us and it's been long enough that we won't be remembered," Bella continued for her Husband with a smile and Jasper was surprised to feel how much enthusiasm she had for the choice.

"Hell yeah!" Emmett cheered brightly as if he hadn't been constantly complaining just minutes ago, "I'm gonna wrestle me one of those Wolves!"

At the mention of Wolves Jasper stiffened in worry, but Edward was ready to explain to both him and Alice, "There's a tribe who's territory border's ours down in Washington and on occasion certain members have activated their latent ability to shape shift into giant wolves.

"They're not true Children of the Moon just Sentinels."

"But if we all move into the house, don't you think it will be a bit strange?" Esme frowned thoughtfully at the idea, "We could pose as a blended family but some people might look at us a bit strangely if we have 3 'adults' in the house."

"As far as I can see it won't be a problem if we choose our relationships correctly," Alice announced brightly, "OOH! It looks so perfect!

"If we all go to high school we might even be able to stay for more than just a couple of years!"

Jasper couldn't help but think that living through high school sounded boring, but Alice was right. The younger they all started the longer their family could keep their roots,

"Alice's choice always has my vote, I know better than to bet against her."

"Well," Edward sighed a bit and looked at Jasper, "It will be a bit boring for the first four years, but if it means being back in Forks I don't mind.

"I remember how perfect it was back on our first stay. Alice, your vision doesn't even come close to describing how great the wilds are there."

"I never visited Forks with you back then but Edward and Emmett seem to have lovely memories of the place," Elisha seemed on the verge of agreement, "It has my vote as long as Esme doesn't see a problem."

"It sounds lovely," Esme agreed easily, in no time Rosalie voted in favor as well and they were working on how they would all going to be related.

Each time they chose a connection Alice gave a Yay or Neigh regarding the outcome. It was careful maneuvering as they each tried different layouts that had been used before in other places while also attempting new ones. Getting it right would be crucial, because their roles would have to be the reality they faked every time they were out among humans.

"So Jasper will be Rosalie's Twin again taking the name Hale," Carlisle was running it all back down so that everyone was clear and their choices were in sync,

"Elisha will be my younger brother and the Hales will be our younger cousins. Edward, Alice, and Emmett will be Cullens adopted by Elisha and Esme."

"Right!" Alice cheered, with great exuberance, "All those choices are looking like they'll go off without a hitch!"

"Last, but definitely not least, it's time to find you a place Darling," Carlisle smiled down at his wife and Bella returned the expression fully.

Jasper had come to find that her placement in their charade tended to be both crucial and cruel.

Bella and Carlisle were the only Mated pair in their Coven whose ages did not match by human standards. Jasper had been told that for a while they had been able to pass for married but at the turn of the 20th century things began to change.

Their little coven of two had been forced by societies changing climate to pose as an uncle and niece. Once in an odd while they dared playing married, declaring Bella's age to be 18 but that had been before Edward. No longer were they capable of allowing the truth to be known.

And while the standards of the world at large were excellent for girls who were actually teenagers, it was difficult for their family.

Bella's place in their Coven could make or break their ability to stay in a location. They could not afford a scandal should someone see a tender embrace between Carlisle and his Mate.

it was cruel.

That the couple Jasper had come to think of as his adopted parents were put in such a situation every time they moved. They were the only ones who ever had to be careful not only in life, but love.

"She can be my sister," Edward offered first, "I'm not related to anyone yet."

"That won't work," Alice shook her head, slowly with a grimace, "She can't be related to you or Carlisle."

"That means I'm out too," Elisha sighed and cased his mother a very sincere apologetic look. Bella smiled softly at both him and Edward,

"We'll find the right one."

"What about me?" Esme perked up, with a sudden excited aura, "She could pass as my little sister right?"

"We'll be like an undead Modern Family," Emmett joked childishly, Elisha shoved him and mocked offense,

"Excuse me! I'm perfectly alive! I have a beating heart and everything!"

"That's because you're a weirdo," Edward grinned toothily causing the Half Born to laugh.

"Emmett's right though," Alice cheered with radiant success, "That one looks like it will be alright."

"Then let's start packing," Carlisle declared with finality,

"We'll be departing at the end of the month."

Alice smiled down at Jasper then with a secretive twinkle in her eye. Sometimes there were things she knew which she kept hidden because it was the best option. Alice's eyes spoke of a thrilling outcome of their choices, but Jasper knew better than to ask. After all, she wouldn't be so thrilled if it was bad.

He trusted her more than he trusted himself.

And that would never change.


	7. Elisha Cullen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: You may have noticed Quil's Story is gone by I decided to move it because it fit better in a the next installment of this series It will be the first chapter of 'Good Fences Make Good Neighbors'

He grew tired of living with his parents constantly seeing his mother not receiving the respect that was her due among humans. Day in and day out boys he instructed would leer at her and ask the woman who raised him out on dates as if they were not a third the men Elisha Cullen's father was.

Women lusted after his father, the 'unmarried' Doctor, shamelessly as if they had a right. Elisha had been approached several times by colleagues begging for an introduction to the man. It was enough to wear him down to his breaking point.

Love.

He loved them as only a son who had memories of the first three days of his life, which were spent entirely cradled in his father's arms while his mother went through three days of absolute hell because she'd died to birth him, could. With such great love as a boy who had witnessed them fall to their hands and knees begging the three most powerful men in their world to let him live.

So he had to leave.

At the age of 40 he departed from the home his family had taken in Vermont and declared his intentions to find Half Borns who had been born before him.

But he promised he would return and Elisha did. When his heart grew weary of travel ,and the tales of how many Half Borns had been created at the vicious expense of their mothers, he headed home.

Many viewed him as a member of the Volturi.

Officially he was not counted among the ranks of the Guard, though Elisha was looked upon favorably by Aro for his work abroad. Originally Elisha had begun searching out Half Borns conceived before the Voluri's mandate, but he began also reporting on the state of the more remote regions he'd been in simply as a courtesy.

Cauis had even allowed him to utilize Demetri on occasion so long as whatever request they had made was carried out.

Elisha's Gift was so incredibly similar to Aro's that the Vampire had even taken him aside on occasion to share experiences, tales, and other such anecdotes only one with such a thorough skill could truly understand.

He was not a member of the Volturi, but Aro called him the great link between the two grandest Covens in the world. So when he was 98, the Volturi gifted him with a robe to wear while he was on his missions. Not only for them, but also in his search for Half Borns.

"Your very existence, combined with your aide to us is a promise. We are practically one large family," Aro had grinned and Caius too clearly enjoyed the implications of those words,

"All will see you and know that your business is not to be trifled with. See this as our thorough support to your endeavors Elisha."

Caius had moved his hand at one of the grey robed guards, and the Vampire had presented Elisha with a robe as pitch black coal as the most elevated of Volturi members. There was one key difference in it's appearance though.

As the hoods of the Volturi were as red as the blood which they drank, Elisha's gift touted a hood as gold as his father's eyes.

The symbolism was lost on no one.

He wore it as requested on his great mission and his success multiplied as the support of the Italian Coven was clear in his attire, for no Vampire could wear such robes and be suffered to live if they were not a member of the ruling Clan.

And when he presented his wife to The Brothers, she too was attired for their great task.

Elisha knew that Aro had grown shaken by the idea of so many children being hidden from him in fear. His reach was far but not far enough, the man no doubt saw Elisha as the answer. For the mercy he showed in suffering the boy to live emphasized the fairness of the 3 Kings to all who had begun to doubt.

Aro's bid to once again attain proper control on the world which had expanded faster than the Volturi could keep up, was a calculated one.

The living symbol of their mercy was traveling the world and spreading the benevolence and civilized nature of the ruling class, it was a tactic to spread contentedness and breed trust with the nomads who wandered the wilds and may begin to grow discontent.

Elisha's motives were not pure either, as he knew so long as Aro was sure of his loyalty, then his rapidly growing family would be safe. There was no reason to fear a coven of nearly 10 on the other side of the world if you viewed them as an extension of your own, after all.

Esme too, helped in his endeavors, as she kept her ears and eyes opened so that when Aro asked, they would be ready to report.

Really, Elisha had originally not thought beyond being helpful as his father had always instructed him to be. Soon though Aro, Cauis, and Marcus began requesting them to inspect certain Covens in areas they found too remote to spare their own Coven Members for. Especially for situations they deemed too insignificant for their strong hand.

Widespread became the word of his travels not only for Half Borns, but missions of inspection in the name of the Three Kings in Italy.

By the time Elisha was was 166, there was a saying whispered across the world;

"Two Gold for mercy and Ten Red for fury."

He was proud of the legacy he had created, and when Esme had joined him it was as if she was born for it. He heart was kind and merciful, with a sweetness that brought relief to the frightened souls around the world who feared destruction simply from existing without permission.

His family knew of course, there was no hiding from Alice or Edward.

Jasper was easily the most impressed, and while his father too was proud of his missions as well as his rising reputation, he did not quite agree with Elisha's reasons for being bound so closely to the Italian Coven. His mother was more reasonable, as always, and informed him with sparkling eyes that he had done well for himself.

Emmett thought he was insane but accepted it, while Rosalie felt the need to ask one day after a particularly long mission for the Volturi, "You're still Cullens though right? You're not actually going to change over?"

"I don't know, the last time we were in Argentina I went by Platt," Elisha smiled brightly as helped load the moving van. Their trip to Forks would only seem long for all the luggage they traveled with.

"That's so sweet!" Alice cooed brightly as she made her way back into the house, "Jasper! Let's go by Brandon next time we're honeymooning!"

"You're making us look bad old man," Emmett declared as he came down the porch with several boxes, "Next thing you know we're all going to be the Swans!"

"That's not a bad Idea!" Rosalie cheered from upstairs in the house where she was still getting boxes together.

"Look what you started," Edward glared at him facetiously as he closed the trunk to the van which was parked next to the big hauler,

"I'm going to spend the next 50 years of my life being a Platt or Swan because of you."

Jasper leaned out of a window and called out, "You're all so pathetic! I've been a Hale 3 times in th last 50 years! You're not special!"

"Preach!" Elisha laughed aloud making his way out of the back of the hauler, "You all act like taking a last name that's not your own or Cullen is sacrilegious!"

The sound of his father's Mercedes reached his ears and Elisha waited to go inside as his siblings began arguing about what names they'd rather take if they couldn't use their own or Cullen. They were a rowdy bunch, which he found endlessly entertaining when he was home for it.

Many believed that you ceased developing the moment you were changed and while Elisha knew it was supported by the plague of immortal children he didn't think it completely tracked. Jasper and Elisha's own mother were only 17 and 18 respectively but were much more mature than others of their age. His own father was technically only 23 but he too did not exactly act like the many young men of that age Elisha had met.

Perhaps it was simply from their mature dispositions or that the circumstances of their human life made them grow up faster than they needed to, whatever it was Elisha couldn't fully believe that a Vampire like Edward, who was also frozen as a teen, was unable to truly 'grow up'.

In the end, they still acted like a bunch of children on occasion even though they had their moments of great maturity.

"Heads up Platt!" Jasper called and Elisha looked up to see his brother dropping a box. Bracing himself the Half Vampire watched it fall before catching it with ease.

"Don't let Emmett see you do that Major, he'll start throwing down something a little less sturdy than a few boots, " Elisha called up with a smile, but loaded it up into the hauler nonetheless.

By the time he was walking out of the moving truck, his father's car had pulled up and the man himself was exiting the vehicle. With his inhuman speed, the Cullen Patriarch made his way over to the passenger side in order to hand his wife out.

"Be it carriage or car, it seems my father is always the gentleman!" Elisha cheered in greeting as he made his way over to them,

"So? How's the house looking?"

Carlisle Cullen, the man Elisha called father, shut the door and allowed Bella, better known to the Half Born as mama, to reply as she removed her sunglasses from her face,

"Perfect! All the furniture will be set up by tomorrow morning and they even managed to get those couches Esme wanted."

"And the garage?!" Rosalie asked bounding down the stairs with a chest that was almost comically large compared to her size.

"All the cars are moved in," their father replied happily as he slung his arm over their mother's shoulder,

"Even Eleanor."

"Which I still think is way too much!" Bella exclaimed while Rosalie just laughed,

"She's your mother's day present! You have to drive her! We all agreed it was perfect."

"It's old, it's not a European sports car, and it's black," Alice chimed happily from upstairs in the house, "You're just being stubborn Bella."

"She's a '67 Shelby GT500 Mustang," their mother deadpanned as if she was being made fun of and she kind of was. Bella Cullen had grown up with little and when she was changed her husband had not yet gotten her accustomed to a life of plenty. So she still had the tendency to shy away from more pricey gifts.

How Elisha's father got away with Isla Bella was still a mystery to all of them.

"Darling," Carlisle put his hands on her shoulders and spun her in order to face him. He was quite taller than his Mate and leaned over her in a way that would be considered 'looming' if his expression wasn't so full of affection,

"The children love you and they just want to give you something shiny since you insist on constantly doing the same for them."

Finally a smile broke out Bella's face, it was tentative but there, "Fine, but I'm not driving it to school. Since you all bought me the equivalent of the Mona Lisa I'm going to bum rides with you.

"There's no way I'm leaving that car in a high school parking lot."

"That's fair," Rosalie mused and Elisha couldn't help but chuckle as that became the general consensus.

His parents kissed and Emmett began to whistle suggestively while Elisha just rolled his eyes at his younger brother's ridiculousness.

Eventually they all finished loading all the boxes and closing up their Alaskan home. Collectively they had moved more times than a human could count, but Elisha never liked to think on such things unless he needed to.

Immortal life was difficult among humans, even if it was far more satisfying to live as part of a greater society. He knew that was why so many Vampires revere the Volturi, for they had made an entire mini city in their castle.

He liked their way better though, the Olympic Coven were truly of two worlds and had pushed the meaning of 'Coven' to the limits.

Being 9 strong was incredible without a binding gift. Any Vampire who saw them and did not know their reputation would likely believe they were a few Covens who enjoyed each other's company. Or, they would probably believe Carlisle to have a powerful world shaking gift that had them all trembling in obedience.

The truth was sweeter though, as they were bound by the strongest of materials. Love that was earthshaking and pure which could not be replaced by anything.

The family separated into the 3 vehicles they had decided to drive down to Forks. Their parents and Edward would be in the Mercedes while Elisha drove the moving truck with Esme as his co-pilot.

Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, and Alice would be in the van that had been lovingly dubbed the love machine by someone at some point.

Emmett.

5 of them had been to Forks but 4 had not, and Elisha looked forwards to the brand new experience of it. He had a job lined up as an English teacher at the high school while Esme had just been confirmed for an interview at the local daycare.

According to his father they had 21 days to settle in before their neighbors came knocking and asking about their plans.

Elisha thought it would be a strange experience indeed to be living near a group of Supernaturally Gifted people who were aware of what they were. He'd save his opinions though until they met and had agreed to honor the treaty.

* * *

  
There was a definite air of tension around the family as they entered their newly remolded home off the Forrest road in Forks, Washington.

3 weeks they'd begun to settle into their rather spacious home which was decorated by the minds of Bella, Esme, and of course Emmett. Because they were really the dream team when it came to designing rooms that were pleasing but functionally fun.

Dr. Cullen had begun his work at the hospital while Elisha had already hit ground running with his new students. The 'kids' were scheduled to start school after their 21 day agreement was met with the Quileute Tribe.

Meeting the local Elders had been interesting, to say the least. There had been about 4 Patriarchs all over the age of 40, but there had been a young man with a shoulder tattoo wearing cut off shorts. A brush against Edward's hand had informed him that the youngest member of the group was a Shapshifter and likely the only one.

Having frequently been the one in charge of speaking in so many missions and meetings, Elisha couldn't help but feel a little out of place as well as frustrated at the fact that he wasn't permitted to speak. If anyone else but his parents had been in charge, he surely wouldn't have been able to bear it.

But he trusted them and agreed with their style of kindness and acceptance over all else. Especially since Elisha knew that if push came to shove they would fight for their family. Neither of his parents were violent and his father was a well established pacifist, but that didn't mean they were weak.

It simply meant that they would never be the ones to start a fight. If the fight was brought to them? Well, that would be the aggressor's mistake.

For the whole meeting Elisha couldn't help but feel like he was a tad useless. None of them were permitted to cross the invisible treaty line which his mother had them memorize during their first hunt in the area. That also mean he couldn't use his gift on any of the Quileutes which was mildly frustrating.

Through the entire thing he kept gently knocking his hand into Edward's in an attempt to see what was going on behind the scenes. The Telepath thankfully obliged, even if he was on the verge of smiling like a brat the entire time.

Still, he couldn't really pin the Quileutes down so Elisha was still holding out judgement for the end of their family meeting which began as soon as they were all settled back int their home and his father asked,

"Alright, whats the verdict?"

"They were pretty angry, but also kind of surprised at actually seeing us,"Jasper shared confidently what he'd picked up during the meeting,

"Distressed too when you brought up changing the treaty."

"They were angry about Elisha," Edward informed them all through gritted teeth. The auburn haired boy clenched his hands into fists and took a breath as he continued,

"Sam, the Wolf that was with them, kept thinking about how to destroy him. Black too, kept calling him horrific things. Clearwater was practically planing a witch hunt once more of their boys joined the Pack.

"Ateara was the only one who was being reasonable, I think Bella and Carlisle remind him of Eprhaim and his wife. At least he associates them closely together."

Elisha had been surprised at that part initially, but he had to admit it wasn't altogether unexpected. His kind were still considered rare, even if there were plenty of them. Compared to the population of Vampires, Half Borns were less than 1%. There was also the fact that plenty of them drank Human blood and were probably easy to just write off as Vampires when it came to reports. Every Half Vampire could tolerate Human food differently, Elisha had trained himself from a young age and had grown accustomed to it. There were plenty of his kind that were not so eager to please an animal drinking merciful father though.

Esme was on her feet in an instant clearly more distressed than he was at the words, "Should we leave?"

"They say they will honor the treaty so long as Elisha obeys it," Carlisle reminded her softly and Elisha just knew his mother wasn't going to be silent while his father continued,

"Thoughts are not actions. We cannot act simply because they are biased against our kind. After all, they've been hunting Vampires for generations. We may be tolerated but that does not mean they will accept us as Chief Black did in his day."

"And what if they decide to change their minds?" Bella asked her voice tight in fear, Elisha's heart ached to see his normally collected mother so distressed. While she was kind, there wasn't anything she wouldn't do to protect their family, "There will be at least 3 wolves, and if they find Elisha alone that will be enough to destroy him.

"Or any of the children. Perhaps we've lived contently here in the past, but Carlisle, I won't just sit idle if they intend to threaten us."

"But they won't, that's the reason we made the treaty in the first place," the Patriarch reminded all of them as he kissed his Mate on the temple,

"So that we could live in peace here. They still honored the 21 day requirement, it bodes well for their ability to accept us taking up residence her once more."

"I agree with papa," Elisha declared knowing his words would sway the room. He traveled far and wide, faced Covens and Kings who thought themselves rulers of the world. Reckless feral Vampires who hunted his kind for the thrill of the kill, he could deal with a small amount of aggression from the neighbors,

"Edward knows this, but I have grown used to others seeing me as an abomination. I am lucky to have been raised in love and taught since I was little that I was a gift.

"But others will not always see it that way. Let them think their thoughts of fear and disgust, as long as they don't act then we have no quarrel."

"Alice?" Emmett looked expectantly at the dark haired seer, "Anything you'd like to share?"

"Still the same," She shook her head in frustration. Alice hadn't been able to see the meeting when Jasper had asked that she ensure they weren't walking into an ambush. Something had been blocking it so her Mate had insisted on a preparation for a fight. The entire meeting the entire family had been prepared to leap into battle formation but it seemed that no blood would be shed just yet as Alice informed them pouting,

"Anything involving their attack dog is as blank as Elisha was before we met. I just can't seem to get past him. But..."

She trailed off and smiled a bit victoriously, "I do see Elisha's future just fine. Apparently we're going to play baseball in the next few months."

"See," Elisha took hold of his Mate's hand and saw flashes of her during the meeting and pushed them aside in order to stay in her present. Offering her comfort was his priority, "We'll be fine. Their thoughts are just in uproar because I'm an unknown. Let them see that I truly am no danger."

"You know I worry, but you're all correct," his mother was calming down as she spoke the words. No doubt her Mate's assurances as well as his calm presence worked to soothed her worries, "Elisha is living and breathing, his hair grows and he eats.

"They'll have to see that they would be breaking their own code if they try to harm him. Half Vampire or not,he's still human."

"Exactly," Carlisle agreed while wrapping his arms around her, "If Alice can still see his future then they have no intention on acting on their feelings.Regardless though, we'll need to keep alert, there's not telling who will phase or if they will encounter Elisha and make a reckless spur of the moment choice.

"We can trust their intent but I will not risk any of you to complacency. We'll continue living here, but if any one of you wants to move on I won't hold you back."

"I'm not going to let them run us out of town. Those mutts will be overestimating themselves if they do try something," Rosalie practically snarled, the blonde gnashed her teeth as she hissed,

"There's 9 of us and we're stronger than they give us credit for."

Esme sat down once more and leaned into Elisha's chest with a heavy sigh, "I'd feel more comfortable knowing for certain, but I know that if they target you we'll leave."

"And if they harm you," Jasper trailed off but his tone didn't leave room for interpretation.

It shouldn't have surprised him when his father spoke, but it did, "God help them should they touch a hair on your head."

"Amen," was whispered by his mother as if she had offered a prayer of safety. There was as silent agreement which settled through the entire family. It was overwhelming as he realized his very peaceful family had just agreed to spill human blood for his sake.

Suddenly Edward, from his place on the ground, reached out and touched Elisha's hand. Through the link his younger brother pushed a single thought that took the Half Born's breath away.

For a thought had formed in the family's mind as they considered what would occur if their treaty was broken by senseless ignorance.

For they had all concluded that the Volturi had a great enough might that they would never call on the Olympic Coven for strength, that was sure. But between himself and his father, if the Olympic Coven called Ten Red hoods would be on the horizon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We all write certain things for different reasons, could you believe this Entire AU was created solely for the 'Isla Bella' Pun?
> 
> Alrighty that' the end of the one shots in this story. I plan on more for this series but they'll likely be short stories.


End file.
